Chihiro Mayuzumi glanced at Seijuro Akashi and said:
"Why are you here?"
Seijuro Akashi smiled gently.
"I noticed Mayuzumi-senpai didn't attend the retirement ceremony, so I came to find you. Are you still not planning to go?"
Chihiro Mayuzumi put away his phone and slowly stood up. A light breeze stirred the ends of his hair, carrying a faint trace of youthfulness with it.
"There's no need. I've never been interested in events like that, and I don't have any lingering attachment to the team either."
"But......."
Chihiro Mayuzumi slowly turned his head toward Seijuro Akashi and said:
"Thanks to you, this final year wasn't bad."
A warm smile appeared on Seijuro Akashi's face.
"That's good."
Chihiro Mayuzumi smiled as well and said:
"So let me off before graduation. If you still come talk to me tomorrow like you always used to, I'll feel a little out of place."
"But next year, you'll have to rely on yourselves to beat Kirisaki Daiichi."
Seijuro Akashi smiled and nodded.
"We will. But I still want to say this to you, Mayuzumi-senpai. Thank you for your hard work."
Chihiro Mayuzumi waved a hand.
"No need for that. I don't like hearing things like that anyway. I had my own reasons for becoming like that too, so you don't need to say anything more."
Hearing this, Seijuro Akashi smiled and said nothing else. Instead, he stood with Chihiro Mayuzumi and looked out at the scenery.
At that moment, after seeing Chihiro Mayuzumi like this, the secondary personality inside Seijuro Akashi's mind lowered his head slightly and fell into thought.
...
Meanwhile, at Kirisaki Daiichi.
Shogo Haizaki was holding a basketball and playing one-on-one with Shuzo Nijimura, the two of them going back and forth with no end of excitement.
Dicky Anthony watched the scene with a smile. In three days, he would be leaving this place and returning to the United States.
Miyamoto Tokima had also promised him that once he went back, he could join the Black Dragon Team directly.
However, Dicky Anthony did not plan to join right away. He still had some things to take care of with The Venomous Snakes.
To be precise, he had given The Venomous Snakes half a year. During those six months, he would stay with the team and help them find a new captain worthy of being entrusted with it.
At that moment, Miyamoto Tokima was chatting casually with Satsuki Momoi off to the side. The air around the two of them practically reeked of romance.
Suddenly, Miyamoto Tokima's phone buzzed.
He picked it up and saw that it was a message from Tetsuya Kuroko.
Satsuki Momoi asked curiously:
"Who is it?"
Miyamoto Tokima smiled and said:
"It's a message from Tetsuya. He asked me to have you give him our old photos."
Satsuki Momoi thought for a moment and asked:
"The photos from Teikō Middle School?"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded.
"Yeah. Do you still have them?"
Satsuki Momoi nodded and said:
"I do. I've kept them all this time. They happen to be with me now too, so let's go find Kuroko."
Miyamoto Tokima nodded, took Satsuki Momoi's hand, and walked outside.
The others from Kirisaki Daiichi were already used to this sight, so they simply went back to whatever they were doing.
Only Atsushi Murasakibara glanced over a little longer, somewhat worried that Miyamoto Tokima might take Satsuki Momoi out to eat something good without bringing him along.
At a park.
Tetsuya Kuroko finally saw Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi arrive.
Miyamoto Tokima handed the photo to Tetsuya Kuroko and said:
"Here, Tetsuya. The photo you wanted."
Tetsuya Kuroko gave a faint smile and said:
"Thank you, Tokima."
Miyamoto Tokima waved it off and smiled.
"No big deal."
Tetsuya Kuroko looked at the photo. There were nine people in it, but Ryota Kise was not among them because it had been taken before Miyamoto Tokima left.
Among the nine people in the photo, Miyamoto Tokima stood in the center, while Satsuki Momoi stood beside him with her arm linked through his.
Daiki Aomine was smiling brightly with his thumb raised. Shuzo Nijimura stood on the right, his right hand gripping Shogo Haizaki's head.
Shogo Haizaki looked impatiently at the camera.
Seijuro Akashi smiled gently, while Atsushi Murasakibara was still stuffing snacks into his mouth.
Shintaro Midorima held a steel fork in his right hand, pushed up his glasses with his left, and looked calmly at the camera.
Tetsuya Kuroko stood beside Daiki Aomine with a faint smile on his face.
Looking at the photo, Tetsuya Kuroko could not help remembering the past. He smiled, then carefully put the photo away.
There were two other photos in his bag. One was a group photo with Seirin, and the other was a Teikō Middle School group photo taken during his second year, before Kōzō Shirogane fell ill.
After doing this, Tetsuya Kuroko said to Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi:
"Tokima, Momoi, my birthday is the day after tomorrow. Can you come?"
"And could you help me invite Murasaki and the others?"
Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi exchanged a look, then both nodded.
"Don't worry, Tetsuya. Of course I'll come to your birthday! I'll tell Murasaki too."
"Kuroko, I'll be there."
Hearing this, Tetsuya Kuroko smiled and thanked them again.
"Thank you. Then I'll be going now."
Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi waved.
"Bye. See you the day after tomorrow."
"Goodbye, Kuroko."
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded, then turned and left.
Miyamoto Tokima watched Tetsuya Kuroko's back and said to Satsuki Momoi:
"Let's go. We'll head back and tell Murasaki and the others."
Satsuki Momoi nodded and followed Miyamoto Tokima away.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the day of Tetsuya Kuroko's birthday.
That morning, Satsuki Momoi woke up early. She looked at Miyamoto Tokima, who was still sleeping soundly beside her, and yanked him up in one motion.
"Wake up, lazy pig. It's Kuroko's birthday today!"
That was right. Satsuki Momoi and Miyamoto Tokima were living together.
Miyamoto Tokima rubbed his eyes, still heavy with sleep.
"Yeah, I'm up."
The next second, Miyamoto Tokima lay back down and fell asleep again.
Satsuki Momoi angrily planted her hands on her hips. In the end, she could only forcefully drag Miyamoto Tokima up and make him wash up.
Once everything was ready, Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi brought their gifts and headed to the place Tetsuya Kuroko had chosen.
That place was the basketball court at an apartment complex!
When Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi arrived, they found that Tetsuya Kuroko had already been waiting there.
As soon as Miyamoto Tokima saw Tetsuya Kuroko, he waved.
"Hey, Tetsuya."
Tetsuya Kuroko turned his head, and when he saw that it was Miyamoto Tokima, he smiled.
"Tokima."
Miyamoto Tokima walked over with Satsuki Momoi, looked at the empty court, and asked:
"You're spending your birthday on a basketball court today?!"
...