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

Xiangyang shook his head helplessly, hugged the trophy and looked in the direction of the camera. Yuki excitedly put her arm around his neck. Ohara, who had been watching from the sidelines due to his foot injury, also stood behind Xiangyang.

Tanaka and the others, who were experiencing this situation for the first time, seemed a little reserved. They covered their stomachs with their hands and stood in a row in a "pick and roll" position behind Xiangyang and Yuki.

Click!

The camera froze on that moment, and at that very instant, the magnetic voice of the announcer rang out.

"Congratulations to Haichang on winning the overall championship of this year's Summer Tournament!"

"This is also the fifth year since the establishment of our Haichang Dynasty. Wow, it's been quite an achievement..."

……

……

One month later

Haichang Gymnasium

"Goodbye, Senior Xiangyang, Senior Liangtai."

As Yuki closed the gym door, another day of club activities came to an end.

Xiangyang and Kise, however, did not leave. The two sat on the bench and chatted idly.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Xiao Xiangyang, I really didn't expect you guys to win the Summer Championship. I thought you couldn't do it without me."

Kise clicked his tongue and turned to Xiangyang, asking, "I heard that Ohara was injured back then. It must have been tough for him."

Xiang Yang rolled his eyes and said, "Don't tell me you haven't watched our match recording. Besides, winning the championship isn't something that's surprising."

Isn't that strange?

Kise chuckled and admitted, "Well, actually I expected it a long time ago, but not being able to participate in person still feels a bit off."

"It's okay, I'll be back with the team by the Winter Cup. Then, let's work together to bring Haichang back their sixth consecutive championship, what do you say!"

Kise clenched his fist with one hand, his eyes shining with a different kind of light. If someone had told him in his first year that Kaijo could win six consecutive championships, he wouldn't have believed it at all. But now, six consecutive championships in his high school career are no longer a dream.

They really...did it!

To Kise's surprise, after hearing his words, Xiangyang not only didn't react, but only responded with an "uh-huh," seemingly lacking any fighting spirit.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Kise said with some displeasure, "You look so listless, could it be that you and Ms. Masako last night...?"

Snapped!

"Shut up, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth."

Xiangyang chopped Kise on the head and said lazily, "I just think that it would be very easy for the few of us to win a championship at this level together, so I'm a little unmotivated."

Kise was slightly taken aback: "You mean?"

"Um, what I mean is..."

Xiangyang picked up the water bottle lying at his feet, squeezed it, and laughed, "I'm going to win the world championship!"

"After I graduate from Haichang University, if I go to China to play badminton and strive for the title of world number one, I think my passion will be rekindled at that time."

"Basketball is only interesting when you have an opponent."

Xiang Yang glanced at Kise and said with a smile in his eyes, "When that time comes, don't let me beat you so badly on the international stage that you won't even recognize your own home, Ryota Kise, the rising star point guard of the Japanese national team."

Kise rolled up his sleeves, unconvinced, and said, "What are you talking about? You're the one who should be joking. Don't let me beat you up on the court, it won't look good then."

Xiang Yang pursed his lips and said dismissively, "I'm really looking forward to it, if you can really do it."

"whispering sound…"

Kise also pursed his lips like Xiangyang, and after a while, he turned to Xiangyang and asked, "What will happen to Miss Masako when you go to the Chinese country?"

Xiangyang thought for a moment and said, "We've agreed that she'll come with me to the flower farm."

Kise suddenly realized: "Oh, so that's how it is... isn't that right??"

Kise frowned: "She's the young lady of the Araki family, you think she can go to the Flower Country with you?"

Xiang Yang shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "Why not? Come to think of it, I've already met Yako's father..."

Xiangyang recalled a memory from not long ago and couldn't help but shudder.

"His father is really something else... But after he learned that I was just an orphan and not too lazy or bad, he agreed to let Yako come with me to China."

Hearing this, Kise was stunned and couldn't help but remark, "Her father is really magnanimous, letting Masako accompany you abroad so confidently."

However, after Kise thought about Masako's superb swordsmanship, he understood Masako's father's thoughts.

Anyway, my daughter's martial arts skills

Gaishi was going to a country like China, which has a well-established security system and social order, so he had no reason to worry too much.

Next, Kise and Xiangyang chatted for a while about their future plans, teasing and joking with each other, before falling silent in perfect unison.

Kise looked at Xiangyang's profile without saying anything, while Xiangyang turned his head and smiled at him.

"I have to go now."

Xiang Yang stood up and turned to look around the Haichang Gymnasium.

Although he will still be here tomorrow for club activities, today... there seems to be a strange emotion in him.

Kise was silent for two seconds before saying, "Isn't it too early? Shall we chat a little longer?"

Xiang Yang shook his head and said with a grin, "We've talked enough. I still have... a lot of things to do."

After saying that, Xiangyang's eyes revealed a hint of reminiscence, and he murmured, "It really has been... a lot of things."

Kise remained seated, motionless: "Are you happy?"

Xiangyang: "Of course, I'm very happy, but... people can't stay in one place forever, can they?"

Kise smiled, put his hands behind his head, looked at Xiangyang and said, "Goodbye."

Xiangyang nodded: "Goodbye."

As he spoke, Xiang Yang turned around and walked towards the entrance of the Haichang Gymnasium.

Kise remained seated on the bench, watching Xiangyang's departing figure. His lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't utter a word.

squeak~

It wasn't until the door to the Kaijo Gymnasium was opened with a strange sound that Xiangyang grabbed the doorknob, turned his head to look at Kise, who was smiling and waving at him.

"Go."

Kise urged.

Xiang Yang didn't say anything, but nodded heavily, and then stepped out the door.

At the entrance of Kaijo High School, Masako was waiting for him on the roadside.

Once they get in the car, they might go to Shark Gym, or they might go to Masako's father's place, or they might go to the Tokyo Stadium... there are so many places they could go.

Xiangyang looked up at the sun today, which was so hot and dazzling that he couldn't open his eyes.

"My journey... has only just begun."

(The End)

Author's Closing Remarks!

Filming wrapped up! Filming wrapped up!

Hahaha, the feeling of finishing a book is, to be honest, quite peculiar. This is something I've never experienced before writing this book.

Tsk, there's so much I want to say right now, but I don't know where to begin.

Finish spreading flowers!

Many readers may feel that the ending is a bit sudden, but what I want to say is that there are only so many stories I want to write. I could indeed write them if I forced myself to continue, but if I did that, I would feel like I was living off my past achievements.

Please forgive me for not writing the complete ending of the story, but in my opinion, the best ending for a story is one without a predetermined one. If I were to write down every single word of Xiangyang's life after leaving Neon, I would feel uncomfortable. So, this is fine as it is.

Thank you to all the readers who have made it this far. I know I made countless mistakes while writing, but you all tolerated me and read to the end. As the first novel I've ever written, I feel really good about finishing it. Similarly, you accompanied me to the very end. I don't know what to say because my feelings right now are truly indescribable.

Just like the last sentence in the book, "my" journey has only just begun. Xiangyang's story will not end, and my story cannot stop here!

The title of my next book has already been decided, and it will be released tomorrow if all goes well.

What if playing basketball could save the world?

Yes, it's another basketball novel, but this one is not fan fiction; it's my original work. It's a sports novel, but not a traditional basketball novel.

I won't spoil any more. If you're interested, you can search for it when you have some free time tomorrow. I'm confident that I can write something better than this one.

That's all for now. Thank you for your support, and see you at the next location!