14 Chapter Fourteen Q

“Sir, if you’re interested, you can leave your phone number, and we will notify you later.” As Tetsu Oikawa was distracted, observing a group of high school students walking in, the receptionist promptly handed him a registration book.

Snapping back to attention, Oikawa hesitated briefly before signing his name and phone number in the book.

After all, he had no better options at the moment; this club was the most suitable both in fees and location.

As he left the club, brushing past the group of high school students, Oikawa keenly sensed someone secretly watching him.

He glanced back slightly and locked eyes with a pair of cat-like eyes.

The other party quickly averted their gaze upon meeting Oikawa’s stare and casually looked down at their phone as if nothing had happened.

Puzzled, Oikawa paid little mind, checked the subway arrival time, grabbed his breakfast, and hurriedly left the club.

“What’s wrong?” A taller figure leaned down to ask the blond youth with the cat-like eyes, whose hair appeared dyed, with dark roots showing.

The boy hesitated before quietly whispering something into his childhood friend’s ear.

The tall one immediately reached for the registration book at the front desk and borrowed it. “Here’s what you wanted. Return it as soon as you’re done.”

The boy glanced over it briefly and signaled that it could be put back.

“So, what was up with that guy just now?” A light-haired person nearby also approached.

The cat-eyed boy quietly watched Oikawa hasten away. “So it really is him…”

“Who?”

“The setter from Sendai Castle West.”

Meanwhile, the subject of their conversation was on his way to catch the subway, having spent a bit too long inside the shop. He had originally planned to be back at the hospital by 8:30, but it was already 8:40…

When Oikawa finally reached the hospital, carrying what had essentially become his lunch, Tetsuya Kuroko was already dressed and waiting by the door.

“Good morning, Oikawa-senpai.” Kuroko blinked at Oikawa’s startled expression.

Oikawa looked bewildered. “Didn’t the doctor say you needed to stay under observation for two days?”

Kuroko shook his head. “I feel fine now. There are things I want to do more.”

After a good night’s rest, he felt remarkably well. After struggling to suppress his thoughts about recent events, an eerie calm had settled over him.

The era of miracles no longer mattered; now, there was only one thing he wanted to do—check on Naruhisa Ogiwara.

Although Meiko Junior High was in Saitama Prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, most sports clubs there couldn’t afford to accommodate many players overnight, so they returned to Saitama after the closing ceremony.

Kuroko hadn’t been able to contact Ogiwara, but he was deeply worried about his condition.

As an outsider, he already felt such pain; he couldn’t imagine how the Meiko team members involved must be feeling.

Seeing Kuroko’s determination to go, Oikawa didn’t stop him, only completing Kuroko’s discharge paperwork under the doctor’s reproachful gaze before hastily boarding the Shinkansen bound for Tsurushima City.

Since it was a weekday, when they arrived at Meiko Junior High, classes were still in session. Reliable as ever, Oikawa simply helped Kuroko climb over the school fence.

Meiko Junior High was one of Saitama’s top basketball schools, with many national tournament appearances, so their gymnasium was quite prominent.

With urgency, Kuroko dashed into the gym.

The place was empty, not a soul inside.

Oikawa sighed helplessly. “Must still be class time. The basketball club probably hasn’t started practice yet. Do you know which class Ogiwara-kun is in?”

Kuroko suddenly froze.

Middle school classes change every year, and since there was no need, they had never discussed it. So Kuroko didn’t know Ogiwara’s class, nor did Ogiwara know his.

“I don’t know…” Kuroko’s mood sank.

His sigh echoed through the empty gym. Oikawa rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. “Let’s wait here a bit. Judging by the time, practice should be starting soon.”

Kuroko nodded, and the two sat down on the steps outside the gym.

The campus was quiet, with only the faint sound of studying from the building opposite.

“By the calendar, the end-of-term exams should be coming up soon,” Oikawa glanced at his phone.

Though he said that, in reality, once they returned, exams would start immediately. Then he would officially take over the volleyball club at Seijo, preparing for the preliminary rounds of the Spring High tournament in mid-August.

The main tournament for Inter-High wouldn’t begin until early August; basketball started early because of the sheer number of teams, with the first round of screening over a month in advance.

“Mm.” Kuroko nodded.

“Are you confident about the exams?” Oikawa sighed slightly, knowing Kuroko’s grades weren’t very good.

Kuroko, still lost in thought, realized Oikawa had asked a question. “I don’t know…”

Truth be told, he had no desire to return to Teiko at all. Just seeing those two characters made him feel suffocated.

After a moment of silence, Oikawa said seriously, “If you really have nowhere else to go, why not consider Kitagawa First?”

Kitagawa First didn’t have high academic requirements; as long as you passed, you could transfer in easily. Plus, it made it more convenient to take the Aoba Johsai entrance exam later, which had a much lower cutoff compared to applying from outside the prefecture.

Kuroko hadn’t thought that far yet.

If he were to transfer from Teiko, Meiko would be his top choice; Kitagawa First wasn’t even on his radar.

Before Kuroko could answer, a teacher who seemed both advisor and team leader approached them. “Excuse me… are you Kuroko-kun?”

Her tone was uncertain, tentatively looking at Kuroko.

The called boy stood up. “Hello, I’m Tetsuya Kuroko. You are?”

“I’m the basketball club’s advisor. Ogiwara-kun mentioned you before,” she said with a wry smile.

“Ogiwara? How is he now?” The familiar name instantly tightened the strings in Kuroko’s mind.

Oikawa quietly observed the advisor’s expression and had a vague premonition of the answer.

“After returning from Tokyo yesterday, the third years held a retirement ceremony. It seems Ogiwara and the others have no intention of continuing basketball,” the advisor sighed. “This morning, Ogiwara’s family came to withdraw his enrollment. It looks like he’s preparing to transfer…”

—National runner-up.

It was Meiko’s best result in over a decade, but also their most brutal competition.

As the team’s star ace in recent years, the mentors had harbored infinite hopes for him.

But now… it was all over.

Kuroko opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word.

He thought he would cry when he heard this news, but instead, he felt a numb “I knew it” kind of resignation.

The blows of recent days were too many; at this moment, he couldn’t summon any sorrow.

“He asked me to give this to you before he left yesterday.” The advisor placed a wristband in Kuroko’s palm.

“He said…”

Before the school bell rang, Kuroko and Oikawa were escorted out of Meiko Junior High by the advisor.

On the way to Tsurushima City station, neither spoke, immersed in an endless silence.

Outside the train window, the scenery sped by, the dazzling city lights reflecting on the glass.

In a daze, Kuroko saw his own face, full of loneliness and helplessness, staring back at him from the window.

After a long while, Kuroko slowly rested his forehead against the cold glass.

“Oikawa-senpai… I really have nowhere left to go.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Oikawa’s fingers flew over his phone, seemingly messaging someone.

After sending the last message, he showed the screen to Kuroko.

“Come to Kitagawa First, Ko-chan.”

On the screen was a blank transfer application form, already stamped and waiting for the new student’s information.

Staring at the form for a long time, Kuroko finally replied with a single word:

“All right.”

[Though I have no intention of continuing basketball, no matter where Kuroko ends up, I will always support you. After all... we will forever be the best childhood friends.]

“Then, Oikawa-senpai, please come with me to pack my things,” Kuroko said softly.

He was leaving.

Leaving Teiko, leaving Tokyo, leaving this land that felt like hell to him.

With this resolve, Kuroko decisively called his parents working overseas.

The transfer procedures, withdrawal from the club, school record transfer—he needed to handle all these as quickly as possible.

Although he believed Seijuro Akashi wouldn’t interfere, an uneasy feeling lingered.

So… the sooner, the better.

By the time they took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, it was already past eight at night.

Considering Kuroko’s wish to go home, Oikawa ordered light food delivery midway so they could eat as soon as they returned.

Kuroko’s parents supported all his decisions and immediately entrusted relatives still in Japan to handle the transfer paperwork at Teiko.

The transfer application from Kitagawa First was obtained only through Oikawa’s previous goodwill with the head coach, plus the cost of a single meal.

But the transfer process was long; even if everything went smoothly, it would take at least four or five days.

Having not been home for several days, Kuroko found even his own front door somewhat unfamiliar.

Oikawa, visiting Kuroko’s home for the first time, looked at the somewhat empty detached house and felt a bit lonely for him.

Oikawa’s own family was large and always noisy.

“By the way, when you get to Sendai, do you plan to stay in the school dorm or at my place?” Oikawa asked as they walked to Kuroko’s room.

Kuroko raised his hand to open the door, then, to Oikawa’s puzzled gaze, retrieved a bag and a utility knife from a drawer.

“I’ll probably rent a place. My parents will arrange the accommodation.”

“I see... Wait, what are you doing?” Oikawa was stunned as Kuroko climbed onto the bed holding the utility knife.

“Just… tidying up.”

Looking at his favorite basketball player’s poster on the wall, Kuroko didn’t hesitate to peel it off with the knife and put it into the bag along with other items.

Oikawa stood awkwardly by the door.

Inside, Kuroko packed all basketball-related items into a canvas bag—the shoes, jerseys, an unused new basketball, and more.

Then he took out a suitcase to neatly pack his daily necessities, discarding everything basketball-related and leaving only what he needed to live.

Only then did Kuroko realize…

His past life had been filled with basketball to the point that there were hardly any other belongings.

Oikawa wanted to help but was firmly refused.

The room quickly became empty under Kuroko’s swift clearing, unrecognizable from before.

After crouching for so long, Kuroko stood up and almost fainted.

“Ko-chan!” Oikawa was startled and quickly reached out to support him.

As his vision cleared, the boy trapped by basketball and Teiko’s shackles finally mustered the courage to bid farewell to his past.

He looked up, dazedly staring at the spot where the Teiko team photo had hung.

For a moment, the memories of the Miracle Generation teasing their opponents and Kageyama Tobio fiercely battling in full force flashed through his mind.

After truly saying goodbye to basketball and his former self, Tetsuya Kuroko suddenly yearned for a new life.

One so drastically different that… he would never again recall that suffocating, painful past.

“Oikawa-senpai…”

“Let’s leave here.”