Araki's hand paused for a moment, but she didn't respond.
Kota glanced over, trying to gauge her reaction, then smirked.
"What's up with you, Miss Masako? Don't tell me… you've fallen for me?"
"Haha"
Araki rolled her eyes so hard they nearly came out the back of her head, then went back to tending the steak in the pan.
Kota knew better than to keep pushing and shut his mouth, but the question still lingered in his mind. Araki had always treated him way too well. And it wasn't just the free private training over the last three months—even the daily meals? He hadn't paid a single yen, and she'd never brought it up.
"Maybe she's just rich and doesn't care? But no… she puts in real effort with me. Feels like the only explanation left is… yeah, she likes me."
Suddenly, Araki's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.
"I think you're misunderstanding something. Let me make it clear."
Still watching the pan, she said calmly,
"I used to be on the women's national team."
"But I wasn't gifted. Not at all. Honestly… my talent was about as bad as yours."
Kota felt vaguely offended, but stayed quiet.
"I wasn't picked for the youth national team at first. They said I was too short. They chose another girl instead. So, I worked my ass off and finally beat her team in a tournament."
"Wait a minute…Why does this sound so familiar?"
Kota's back stiffened slightly with a growing sense of déjà vu.
Araki didn't seem to notice.
"After that, they finally let me into a tryout. Just a tryout. Meanwhile, the girl I beat? She got a direct invitation."
She paused to flip the steak. Any longer and it would've burned.
Kota didn't speak. The room went quiet again.
After a while, Araki walked over, took the vegetables from Kota's hands, and returned to the stove.
Just as Kota was wondering whether he should say something, Araki spoke up again.
"I did well after I joined the team, but the coaches and other players never took me seriously—because I only got in through a tryout. That period… it was rough. Even now, thinking about it still sucks."
Her grip on the spatula tightened. The way she stirred the food became noticeably harsher.
"The basketball federation in this country is full of arrogant idiots. Kota, promise me you won't repeat my mistakes. You understand the game better than anyone your age. You were born for basketball—aside from your body, everything else about you screams 'player'. But some people? They just can't see it."
The reason Araki worked so hard for Kota wasn't some vague kindness or romance — it was because she saw herself in him. Maybe more than anyone, she understood how he felt. And maybe, she already knew how his story might end… because she'd lived it.
Dismissed.
Overlooked.
Losing to someone she'd already beaten.
Even the ending might be the same.
Araki wasn't sure if the federation had changed in recent years, but if Kota faced what she had… even if he made the national team, he'd never be happy. That's why she helped him—not to push him toward some title or team, but to make sure he had a future that wasn't ruined by politics and pride.
"Go wait outside. I'll bring the food out when it's ready."
Outside, Kise was jogging on a treadmill. When he saw Kota come out, he grinned and waved.
"Yo, Kota! This place is amazing. So this is where you've been training? No wonder you got swole!"
Kota forced a smile. What Araki had said in the kitchen still weighed heavy on his mind.
"Kota?"
Kise stepped off the treadmill, jogged over, and leaned in, whispering like a gossiping schoolgirl.
"Did you get… rejected or something?"
"Screw you."
Kota shoved Kise's face away just as Araki stepped out with a tray.
Kise subtly peeked at her expression and noticed… yep, she looked a bit annoyed too.
"Wait a sec…"
Kise felt like he'd just uncovered a secret soap opera.
Trouble in paradise?
"Wait, wait—Kota came out of the kitchen really fast too…"
His imagination took off running. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even hear Kota calling his name.
"This idiot… definitely thinking some dumb nonsense."
Kota gave Kise a dead-eyed stare and dragged him to the dining table.
"There's still another dish inside. You guys can start,"
Araki said, disappearing into the kitchen again.
Kise finally snapped back to reality and looked at the table.
"Wait… why is everything green??"
A pure-blooded carnivore, Kise looked horrified.
Kota, already used to it, popped a broccoli floret into his mouth and pointed with his chopsticks.
"There's one steak."
"Just one?"
Kise wanted to complain—but then Araki returned with the final plate.
Eyes full of hope, Kise stared at the dish like it might be a miracle…
It was rice. Just… rice.
Kise wasn't fat, but like most basketball players, he had an appetite like a black hole. With only one steak and no meat in the veggies, he was staring down the saddest dinner of his life.
Meanwhile, Kota was already chomping away, savoring the soy sauce on the veggies — normally, it was just boiled with no seasoning at all. Araki had added that extra bit just for Kise. Probably because she knew he'd cry otherwise.
"Did you wash your hands?" Araki asked.
"I washed them back at Kaijo."
"Wash them before eating."
"Haaai, haaai~"
Kota raised his hands in surrender, dragging Kise along to the sink.
"Kota, tell me you didn't eat this kind of stuff every day during training…"
Kise looked like someone had stolen his soul.
Kota tilted his head in thought.
"Not every day."
Kise sighed in relief.
"There wasn't steak, usually. Just plain boiled chicken breast."
Kise: …Excuse me while I cry in protein powder.
Back at the table, Kota dug in. This was one of the rare moments he could eat veggies with flavor. He wasn't going to waste a bite.
Araki ate quietly beside him. She and Kota weren't the chatty type at meals.
Kise, however, was the exact opposite. If he had to eat in silence, he'd lose his mind.
"So… the official Winter Cup match schedule came out today."
Given the group's basketball background, he figured it was a safe topic.
Araki didn't react — she'd already studied it front to back as Yosen's coach.
Kota looked up, swallowing his food.
"Oh yeah? Who are we playing?"
He hadn't been back to Kaijo lately and had no idea who their first-round opponent was.
"Thank God" Kise sighed. This heavy atmosphere was killing him.
"Some school called Fukuda Sogo. Kasamatsu-senpai said their point guard's supposed to be really strong."
"Fukuda Sogo?"
Kota gnawed at a piece of steak, thinking.
"Fukuda Sogo… wait…"
"Who did Kaijo play in the manga again? There was still one guy who hadn't shown up yet…"
"Wait—Fukuda Sogo? Wasn't that… Haizaki Shogo, former regular of Teiko?"
Kota's chewing slowed as the realization hit… then he relaxed again.
"If Kaijo beat him in the manga, with me on the roster? That scumbag's not doing anything this time."
"Looks like this might be fun" Kota said with a grin, licking his lips. He couldn't wait to see Kise's reaction when that guy showed up.
"Wipe your mouth" came a voice like a glacier in human form.
"Haaai~"