The Origin Of Joichiro Hyakuzawa: Part 9

*Joichiro Hyakuzawa's POV*

//August 22, 2036//Friday//

Class ended, and my classmates were leaving one by one in the room. Asami left early as well to go to her classroom, and as for me…

We do not have any basketball training for today, and I thought that I can invite my friends to go to the karaoke to hang out.

But just as I was about to talk to them earlier, Ken along with my teammates left early leaving me again alone here inside the room by myself for a while.

To be honest, I was jealous that Ken was getting along with my friends more than I am. But I guess the reason for that is I haven't been hanging out with them for a while now.

"I guess it's time to go home early."

*SLIDE*

When I stood up from my seat, someone entered our room, and I looked at who it was.

"Joichiro-senpai!"

"Oh, Souta!"

Kind to think of it, Daisuke, and the others left without waiting for Souta. I thought that they were going to meet him somewhere, but I guess that is not the case.

"I thought you were with the others?"

"Ken-senpai, and the others? Yes, I am with them."

Figures… Good for him though.

"Well then, I'm off."

"Wait, Joichiro-senpai!"

As I was about to go outside of the room, Souta held my shoulders and stopped me.

"What is it, Souta?"

"Actually, Daisuke and the others were playing basketball on the court. Umm… We were really sorry that we forgot to invite you over."

Forgot? That's unusual for them.

"Would you like to join us, Joichiro-senpai?"

Something is fishy. Should I just walk straight home, and invite them to hang out next time? Or should I-.

"You should spend more time with them when there is still time."

Asami was right. This is an opportunity to make up for the time that I haven't spent with them.

I agreed to go with Souta and followed him to the basketball court. When the two of us entered inside, I saw the four familiar faces playing basketball happily.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"Oh… Hey!"

I noticed it as soon as they greeted me. It feels like they are not even that happy that I came.

Am I overthinking things?

Don't think about it, Joichiro. Just have fun with your friends.

"Itsuki! Pass it to me!"

Itsuki looked at me for a second then passed the ball to someone else.

"Hey, Joichiro."

*BUMP*

Ken caught the ball and called me while he was dribbling it.

"Have a one-on-one match with me."

"Eh? I mean I can, but for what?" I asked.

"If you win, I'll treat you to something for lunch on Monday."

*FWOOSH*

Ken threw the ball at me, and I caught it effortlessly.

"But if I win, you need to do everything I told you to do."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing serious."

*CRACK* *CRACK*

Ken cracked his knuckles and smiled at me. But, something is wrong…

"We're friends, aren't we?"

His smile was full of mischief.

The atmosphere feels uncomfortable here. Why is Daisuke, and the others not saying anything?

No, Joichiro, Don't suspect your friends. Maybe they just changed, and I haven't noticed it since I'm not always with them during our four months here in my third year.

"Sure! If I win, treat me to some Curry rice on Monday."

"Well then, the person who first gets five points wins." Ken said.

"Bring it on!"

The first one to get five points will win. Ken will be defending me first, and I will be the one attacking. If he successfully blocks my shot then our roles will change, and he will be the one attacking.

Based on Ken's performance in physical activities, he does well, and sometimes he can be on par with some varsity players in our school. Playing against him might be tough.

*SLAM*

But, I think I have overestimated him.

The score is now 4-0, and he hasn't even blocked any of my shots since our match started.

Ken's reaction time was sluggish, and he couldn't catch up with me at all. I haven't even exerted much effort playing against him. But from how he defends me, it feels like…

He is not even trying at all.

"I won't lose to you, Joichiro!"

But this time it's different.

As I was about to pass Ken, he was quick with his feet, and he had caught up to me.

*SLAM* *SLAM*

I jumped really high to dunk the ball, and finish the game, but surprisingly, Ken matched my jump, and he could possibly block my dunk.

But sorry, Ken. I'm stronger than you.

*SLAM*

I managed to dunk the ball with explosive force on the net, and Ken fell over the floor.

I tried catching up with my breath and looked at my opponent who was on the floor.

I didn't understand at all. At that last point, he managed to catch up with me, and he managed to jump as high as me. He is good I can tell that. But if that's the case, he didn't even try on the first four points at all.

Well, a game is a game, and you shouldn't give excuses after a match is finished.

Even if he did poorly earlier, he is still an opponent that I should respect.

"Hey… Nice Game!"

I reached my hand to Ken who was looking on the floor still breathing heavily from our game earlier.

"Yeah…"

Ken looked at me slowly with a sinister smile on his face.

"Nice game indeed."

I didn't understand what he is thinking behind that smile. He really is a weird one. Maybe I just need more time to understand him. He is a nice person, and everyone likes him. Maybe I should just try to get along with him-.

*SLAM*

Huh..?

I suddenly felt dizzy, and I collapsed to the floor.

"W-What?"

I felt pain in the back of my head, and I could hear footsteps going towards me.

When I looked around, Daisuke and the others were standing up like they were ganging up on me.

Huh? What is happening?

"Joichiro-senpai. This is the first time I see you in this state."

I looked at Souta who was looking down at me in front of my face.

"S-Souta?"

*SMACK*

Souta kicked me from the side of my cheek, and my nose started bleeding.

What?

"HAHAHAHA! That's a nice kick you did there, Souta. But this is how you kick someone"

"D-Daisuke?"

*SMACK*

Without hesitation, Daisuke approached me and kicked me straight in the face. My body went flying from his kick alone, and my face was starting to get numb from the pain I just received from my two friends.

What is happening?

"I guess I don't need this anymore to beat this piece of shit up."

My senses became clearer, and I saw Itsuki holding a chair. He threw the chair away and started approaching me as well.

What the fuck is going on?

"Hey, stand up…"

I followed what Itsuki said, and got up on the floor.

"Oi, I-Itsuki… This isn't funny at all.-"

*SMACK*

Itsuki punched me in the face, and I couldn't even follow his fist at all. I took a step back from the damage, and I started getting dizzy again. My blood started to boil, and because of this nonsense, there is only one thing that is on my mind.

WHAT THE FUCK?!

"You should treat your friends better, Joichiro. You shouldn't treat them like trash."

Ken got up on the floor, and my four friends stood beside him.

"What?" I angrily asked.

Ken got his phone from his pocket, and showed me a video.

"Can I ask you something, Joichiro Hyakuzawa?"

Wait… This video…

"Sure! Go ahead!"

I don't remember what it was, but I am sure this is a video of one of my interviews after our basketball match. What is there to show in this? The questions they asked me are all related to one of my games.

"What do you think of your friends, and your classmates?"

What?

"Well, there is one thing I can say to those idiots."

I-Idiots? Did I ever say that?

"Idiots?" The interviewer asked.

"Yeah, those Idiots! Fuck them all! I don't even care about those pieces of shit even though they like me. I was just using them just to get popular. Those four teammates that I am with? Daisuke, Genkei, Souta, and Itsuki? Hahahahaha! I don't even like them to begin with!"

What the fuck is this?

I love my friends, and I like everyone I met along the way. So what is this video? This is me. The video that Ken showed was me, and that voice was mine. But I didn't say those things.

W-What?

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" I yelled.

"What are you talking about, Joichiro? You are the one who said all of those things to your precious friends. And now you are clueless why they are angry at you?"

"NO!!! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!!!"

Yes, I didn't say anything like that at all.

"THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE ARE?! SOME STUPID IDIOTS JUST LIKE WHAT YOU SAID IN THE VIDEO?!" Daisuke yelled.

"BUT I DIDN'T SAY THAT!!!"

"Woah there, Joichiro."

Ken put his phone back in his pocket and wrapped his arms around my teammates.

"Don't talk like that to my friends."

Friends? Your friends?

"DON'T FUCKING BULLSHIT ME!!! DAISUKE?! SOUTA?! GENKEI?! ITSUKI?! YOU ONLY KNEW KEN FOR FOUR MONTHS?! WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE HIM?!"

"Joichiro-senpai…"

Souta was shaking after he called my name. That's right, Souta might understand that something is fishy from that video.

"Of course, we would believe a Yamazaki than a piece of shit like you." Souta said with a despaired creepy smile on his face.

Huh? Just because he is a Yamazaki? The son of a powerful individual? You would believe him?

"Joichiro…"

Genkei walked up in front of me and held my head.

"Genkei! You understand right? You know that I don't treat you guys badly! Hey… You trust me right?"

I was desperate to be believed in.

*SMACK*

"UGAAHH!!!"

Genkei grabbed my hair and gave me a strong punch right through my stomach. I coughed up blood and collapsed on the floor on my knees.

"Scum…"

Genkei turned his back in front of me, and I was about to snap. What the hell?

WHAT THE HELL?!

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!"

I stood up and rushed towards Genkei with my right fist going towards my face.

*SMACK*

But it wasn't Genkei who I punched.

Ken pushed Genkei away, and I hit Ken's face instead.

"JOICHIRO!!! YOU BASTARD!!!" Daisuke yelled out of resentment because of what I did.

Daisuke was about to rush towards me, but Ken stopped him by wagging his hand at them.

"No, don't. It's fine, it's fine."

Ken stood up and walked slowly towards me.

"W-What the fuck do you want?!"

Ken was too close to me, and he whispered something in my ear.

"This is the last time you touch me with that filthy skin of yours. You still want to go overseas to that NBA G League of yours, right?"

As soon as Ken said that, my eyes widened.

"What? How did you know that?"

******** TO BE CONTINUED ********