Aomine Daiki Template in Slam Dunk

The next day.

Aoi Kunisaku sat through another sleepy, endless class like always.

By now, the teachers had gotten used to this dozing-off student.

At first, they tried to stop him.

But when it happened every period, every day, they gave up.

In contrast, Shimizu Kanon was doing great in class.

There hadn't been any tests yet.

Still, the teachers all agreed—she was probably going to rank first in the year.

What they couldn't understand was why such a good student was always hanging around a guy who just slept all day.

More than once, they called her in for a talk, telling her to keep her distance from Aoi Kunisaku so he wouldn't drag her down.

But each time, Shimizu Kanon would just giggle without agreeing or refusing.

She knew exactly where Aoi Kunisaku's talent was.

Even if her childhood friend looked half-asleep all the time…

His grades weren't actually that bad.

She figured Aoi Kunisaku had inherited physical talent, and she got the brains.

They balanced each other out. Nothing wrong with that.

Just thinking about it made her cheeks turn red.

…

After school that afternoon.

Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon walked together toward the gym.

"Jeez, we're late again today," Shimizu Kanon said, exasperated.

Aoi Kunisaku looked completely chill, not caring at all about being late.

But then, he suddenly stopped and turned his head in a certain direction.

Shimizu Kanon noticed and asked curiously, "Saku-chan… why'd you stop?"

Aoi Kunisaku said, "It's them."

Shimizu Kanon followed his gaze and saw a group of six—five guys and one girl—standing in a corner.

She recognized four of them.

They were always hanging around Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Mito Yohei, Takamiya Nozomi, Ohkusu Yuji, and Noma Chuichirou.

But she didn't know the other guy or the girl.

She frowned and said, "What are they doing? Don't tell me they're about to fight?"

She'd looked into it—Sakuragi Hanamichi's friends used to be delinquents. Fights weren't anything new.

Aoi Kunisaku didn't respond.

His eyes were locked on the unfamiliar boy, not part of the Sakuragi gang.

The boy had spiky pineapple-like hair and earrings that sparkled in the sunlight.

He wasn't tall—around 170 cm.

Not handsome, but his face had a sharp, tough look that set him apart from the average high schooler.

If Aoi Kunisaku remembered right…

There was only one person like that at Shohoku—Miyagi Ryota.

"You know him?" Shimizu Kanon asked, curious.

Aoi Kunisaku looked away and said, "Nope."

Then he started walking again like nothing happened.

Shimizu Kanon quickly followed, muttering, "You're lying. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't have stopped."

She pouted. "Just tell me, pleaaase?"

Aoi Kunisaku said flatly, "Go find out yourself."

Shimizu Kanon puffed up her cheeks. "But I want you to tell me now!"

Aoi Kunisaku yawned and kept walking in silence.

Seeing that he really wouldn't answer, Shimizu Kanon gave a little huff and followed behind, unhappy.

She mumbled, "Fine, don't tell me. Hmph! I'll go find out myself."

After they left—

Miyagi Ryota looked their way.

Mito Yohei noticed too.

"Wasn't that guy just now…" Mito Yohei muttered.

"You know him?" Miyagi Ryota asked.

Even though Aoi Kunisaku had been pretty far away, Miyagi Ryota had felt like he was being stared down by a wild animal.

His chest had suddenly tightened.

That was a warning sign—something dangerous.

He wondered when the school got someone like that.

Mito Yohei didn't hide anything. "Yeah, I kinda know him. He's on the basketball team."

Miyagi Ryota raised an eyebrow and whispered, "Basketball team…"

Then Mito Yohei said to him, "That thing just now was our fault. Let's call it even, yeah?"

Miyagi Ryota stared at him for a long moment, then looked away and turned around. "What's your name?"

"Mito Yohei. You?"

Without turning back, he replied, "Miyagi Ryota."

…

Shohoku Gymnasium.

"Aoi Kunisaku, you bastard! Late again—!"

A furious roar echoed from inside the gym.

No doubt it came from Akagi Takenori.

Everyone seemed used to hearing that voice by now.

Ever since Aoi Kunisaku joined the team, it felt like this yelling happened every day.

Shimizu Kanon stood to the side, looking awkward.

Aoi Kunisaku casually picked his ear, unfazed. "Showing up on time every day hasn't made you guys any stronger."

"What did you say, you bastard—!" Akagi Takenori's forehead veins bulged in fury. His fists clenched tight, itching to punch Aoi Kunisaku straight into the floor.

Kogure Kiminobu quickly stepped in. "Come on now, Akagi. Aoi being late is nothing new. He showed up for practice, didn't he?"

"You're spoiling him too much, Kogure," Akagi grumbled.

But Kogure Kiminobu knew the truth. He thought to himself, There's really no helping it. He's our trump card for nationals, after all.

Akagi Takenori knew it too.

He just needed to vent a little. It was about keeping his authority as captain intact.

And, honestly, he hated to admit it—but he had to acknowledge Aoi Kunisaku's talent.

Someone with that much raw talent, slacking off every day like it didn't matter—that was a waste.

Akagi kept thinking that if Aoi Kunisaku trained seriously, he could become way stronger.

Then their chances of dominating the national tournament would skyrocket.

Shimizu Kanon suddenly walked over to Ayako with a start, like something just clicked. "I remember now!"

Ayako blinked her big eyes and asked curiously, "What is it, Kanon? What did you remember?"

Shimizu Kanon explained, "Saku-chan and I ran into someone earlier. I'd seen him before while checking the team roster. I think his name was Miyagi Ryota."

"You mean Miyagi? You actually saw him? Looks like he's recovered from his injury," Ayako said.

When Shimizu Kanon was doing research, she'd come across some details about Miyagi Ryota.

She said, hesitantly, "Ayako-senpai, that Miyagi Ryota…"

Ayako seemed to know what she meant. She sighed. "Yeah, he's kind of a handful. But he's really dependable on the court."

"Really?!" Shimizu Kanon thought about Miyagi Ryota's height. It was… hard to put into words.

Ayako added, "If you two saw him today, he's probably ready to return. I'll need you to help set up a training plan for him."

"Oh, okay!" Shimizu Kanon replied.

She wasn't the kind to only value raw talent.

As long as someone had potential, she was always willing to help them grow.

…

The next day.

Someone showed up at Shohoku Gym—someone both familiar and unfamiliar to Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon.

It was none other than Miyagi Ryota.

The moment he stepped through the door, he announced, "I'm back."

The second- and third-years all greeted him warmly.

But the first-years looked a bit scared of his intense face.

"Th-that's Miyagi?"

"He looks kinda scary…"

"What if we piss him off and he punches us?"

…

Sakuragi Hanamichi saw Miyagi Ryota and immediately yelled, "You sneaky bastard! This is the basketball club, not some place for you to show your face!"

Miyagi Ryota looked surprised. "So you're here too, huh?"

He looked Sakuragi Hanamichi up and down. "Don't tell me you're actually on the team? No way Akagi-san would let someone like you join."

"What'd you say?!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's temper exploded.

Not only had this guy sucker punched him the other day, now he was mouthing off again.

Miyagi Ryota ignored him, scanned the gym, and said, "I heard you guys beat Ryonan while I was gone."

Kogure Kiminobu replied, "Yeah. It was all thanks to Aoi Kunisaku. Without him, we probably would've lost big."

"Aoi Kunisaku…" Miyagi Ryota muttered, remembering the guy he noticed yesterday. Was it him? he wondered.

Then Kogure Kiminobu said, "Now that you're back, our team just got even stronger. I really believe it now—we can make it to nationals this year."

"That Aoi-whatever guy… is he really as good as you say?" Miyagi Ryota still wasn't convinced.

Kogure Kiminobu laughed. "Well… it's hard to explain. You'll see for yourself soon enough."

Just then, Sakuragi Hanamichi walked over with a basketball in hand.

The two of them locked eyes.

Miyagi Ryota asked, "What? You wanna fight?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't answer. Instead, he started dribbling the ball rapidly between his legs, switching hands with lightning speed. It was so fast there were afterimages.

As he dribbled, he said, "I'm the one who's gonna carry this team."

Miyagi Ryota nearly choked.

He stared at Sakuragi Hanamichi and said seriously, "You wanna settle this?"