Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 78: Kazuo Fujita, Want to Go to America? (Patreon)

After locking the gym doors, the group headed toward the school gates.

They were teenage boys, after all. Their worries came and went quickly. Not long ago, they'd been miserable over their elimination from the tournament, but you wouldn't have known it from looking at them now.

They walked along boasting and teasing one another, and before long they were approaching the front gate. That was when they noticed a commotion ahead.

A middle-aged man in a suit was speaking urgently to the elderly security guard.

"Come on, old-timer, just let me in. You know what I'm here for. I won't cause any trouble. Besides, haven't I given you plenty of good cigarettes these past few days?"

The man sounded genuinely pleading, but the guard didn't seem interested. With a cigarette still clamped between his lips, he replied, "Hey, who are you calling an old man? You're not that much younger than me!"

He crossed his legs and gave the visitor a sidelong glance.

"Rules are rules. Visitors from other schools can't come in without arranging it beforehand. Besides, I already told you the boy you're waiting for came in today. Just be patient. He'll have to come out eventually."

Having said his piece, the guard narrowed his eyes and settled back into his seat, looking as though he didn't want to be bothered again.

The middle-aged man sighed and gave up. He knew the guard was right. Masato would have to leave the school at some point.

But he wasn't the only person who'd been coming here lately, hoping for a chance to speak with the boy. He was afraid another recruiter would turn up while he waited and beat him to the opportunity.

He gave the guard another resentful look. After all the good cigarettes he'd handed over, the stubborn old man still refused to budge. Just thinking about it made him seethe with frustration. He cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.

He was turning to find somewhere to rest when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of boys approaching.

He spotted the person he was looking for immediately. His previously dull eyes lit up, and he almost rushed straight over. Then common sense caught up with him.

He hurriedly used the window of the guard booth to straighten his suit and fix his hair. Only then did he approach, drawing curious looks from the boys around his target.

"Hello, Masato. Here's my business card."

Holding back his excitement, he offered Masato a white card.

Masato accepted it and glanced down with a slight frown. The details were printed clearly.

Tokyo Luo'an High School. Basketball Club Head Coach. Kazuo Fujita.

The man's position as a high school basketball coach wasn't surprising. Plenty of coaches had been trying to contact Masato lately.

What made his expression turn strange was the name. Kazuo Fujita sounded very familiar.

This man had been calling at least five times a day. Blocking his number hadn't helped, because he'd simply called again from another. And every time Masato picked up, the caller had made a point of announcing his full name.

After hearing it so often, Masato couldn't have forgotten it if he'd tried.

He looked up from the card.

"Coach Fujita, you really have gone to a lot of trouble. I can't believe you've started waiting outside my school."

There was teasing in his voice, along with a touch of exasperation. Fujita recognized both, but he was a middle-aged man who'd been through plenty. He wasn't embarrassed in the slightest.

"Masato, I know a lot of people have been contacting you, and I'm sure it's been annoying," Fujita said earnestly. "But please believe me when I say that no one is more sincere about recruiting you than I am."

Masato kept his expression blank. Whether Fujita was the most sincere remained to be seen. As for who'd harassed him the most, though, this man was the undisputed winner.

Seeing no response, Fujita pushed up his glasses.

"I've been trying every possible way to meet you because I want to show you our sincerity in person. Luo'an High School is willing to offer you whatever terms you want!"

"Scholarships, living allowances, everything can be raised to the highest level. And you won't miss out on any prize money from competitions..."

"Most importantly, if you come to Luo'an, the entire team's resources will be devoted to helping you develop!"

Even after laying all that out, Fujita didn't feel he'd said enough. His expression grew more serious.

"Masato, do you want to go to America someday? Come to Luo'an. We'll make sure you have a path to get there..."

The more Fujita spoke, the more animated he became. His earlier composure disappeared as excitement took over.

Masato listened without changing his expression, although he could certainly feel the man's sincerity. Eventually, he had to interrupt.

"Alright, Coach Fujita, I understand what you're offering." He shook his head slightly. "But when school starts again, I'll only be in my third year of middle school. It's still too early to make decisions about high school."

"At the very least, I'd like to wait until after next year's National Tournament before considering it. A lot can happen between now and then. If your school is still interested at that point, we can talk again."

Masato spoke calmly, neither deferential nor arrogant.

Fujita gradually settled down. He studied the boy in front of him for a long moment.

Most players would have been beside themselves with excitement at an offer like that. Yet Masato remained completely composed, giving away nothing about what he was thinking. Fujita realized he couldn't judge this boy by the standards he used for ordinary players.

After thinking it over, he understood there was no point pushing further. This wasn't something they could settle at their first meeting. He knew perfectly well that being too aggressive could ruin his chances.

Besides, he'd already accomplished what he'd come here to do.

"Of course. I understand you have your own plans, Masato. My main reason for coming today was to let you know how serious we are."

Fujita glanced at the players standing behind Masato and smiled.

"I won't keep you and your friends any longer. I just hope you'll save my number in your phone so we can stay in touch. And if you ever have time, you're welcome to visit Luo'an High School and see the place for yourself!"

Seeing that the coach wasn't going to press him any further, Masato smiled and nodded.

"Of course. If things work out, we'll be in touch."

"Then I'll leave you to it. And Masato, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call!"

Fujita put particular emphasis on the word "anything." Clearly, he was offering more than just help with recruitment.

He waved goodbye with a smile and turned to leave.

Fujita was an old hand at this. In all his years around basketball, he'd met more players than he could count. One conversation was enough to show him that Masato was far from ordinary.

He was convinced the boy was well ahead of his peers, both on the court and in everyday life. A genuine prodigy.

With someone like that, all Fujita could do was make the best offer he could. The rest would be up to fate.

...

By the time Fujita had walked away, Masato's teammates were still staring in disbelief.

They'd heard that people had been waiting outside the school hoping to meet Masato, but they hadn't imagined it would be anything like this. What shocked them even more was how calmly their captain had handled such a tempting offer.

Every one of them knew that if they'd been offered even a tenth of what Fujita had promised, they'd have been overjoyed.

They couldn't help thinking about the third-year players who would soon be graduating. Plenty of those seniors were still fretting over getting into high school, while Masato already had coaches practically begging him to attend theirs.

Sometimes, comparing one person to another really was pointless.

Gradually, his teammates recovered and looked at Masato with undisguised admiration.

"Captain, you're amazing!"

"Seriously! You should've accepted right there. Those terms were incredible!"

"Yeah, you'd never have to worry about getting into high school again!"

"..."

Listening to the excited chatter, Kenji actually spoke up of his own accord, something he rarely did.

"What are you guys talking about? Masa isn't some ordinary player. You can't judge him by the same standards as everyone else."

Ishida nodded emphatically. "Exactly. With the way Masa's been playing, he's never going to have trouble finding a school. More and more powerhouse teams will be lining up to recruit him."

"..."

Before long, everyone was so caught up in the discussion that they'd forgotten what they were supposed to be doing.

Masato shook his head helplessly and steered them back to the matter at hand.

"Alright, enough about me. Come on, let's get going!"

...

Meanwhile, in the media district around Minato Mirai 21 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Masami Ishihara had just finished her work in an office building.

She made herself a cup of coffee and took a contented sip as she thought back over the articles she'd written about Kawari's match against Teikō.

The work had left her with a real sense of accomplishment, but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed too.

Since the game, Masato had turned down every interview request. As a result, she still hadn't had a chance to get to know the brilliant player who'd helped put her career on the right track.

Just as she was lost in thought, her phone rang.

Assuming it was something work-related, she quickly picked it up. Instead, the caller ID showed the name of her best friend from university.

Masami paused, surprised, then answered with a delighted smile.

"Hey, Reiko! How come you've got time to call today?"

"..."