Chapter 07 - Family & The Final Test

At the end of the day, Furihata is in a good mood. He did a great job in the scrimmage, impressed his senpai, and even get a compliment from his coach. Hell, even Kagami who is a bit bastard at the start is acknowledging his presence now, even if it's just a little.

And speaking of Kagami, the red hair is completely focused on Kuroko rather than him. Well, considering the unique skill he displayed and his connection with the Generation of Miracles, it is no wonder that Kuroko would attract Kagami's attention.

Not that Furihata would mind, though.

On the journey to go home, he walked through the basketball court he usually used to train just to see the familiar basketball community play.

"Hey, Furihata-kun! Do you want to join!" A shout from the court gained his attention.

It was from Shiro Fujita, a university student and the leader of this basketball community.

"I am sorry, Fujita-san. I have a test tomorrow, so I need to go home right now."

Even though the offer is tempting and he is not tired yet as he played only one quarter, he rejected the invitation. Not that he worried about getting rejected from the Seirin team, considering they don't really have a deep squad. But he wanted to be in his best condition for the test tomorrow.

"Eh, don't worry about it. If you want to join, just drop by anytime you like. Good luck with your test!"

"Thank you, Fujita-san!"

Furihata left the court and went home, thinking about what to do. A plan formed quickly inside his mind, as he thought he would take a shower, prepare for dinner, do his homework, and study for a bit before he went to sleep.

'If there is nothing extraordinary happened today, I will go to bed early.' He thought.

However, just like a jinx, what happened when he arrived home is anything but ordinary. Fortunately for Furihata, if his thought before was a jinx, it was a good one.

"I am home!" He shouted, not expecting an answer. Much to his surprise, a familiar voice replied to his shout.

"Kou-chan, you are late!"

He froze for a moment before running into the source of the voice. He found it in the kitchen, a beautiful woman standing there, smiling at him while preparing dinner. It took him a second before he engulfed her in a bear hug.

"Kaa-chan! You are home!" He shouted excitedly, eliciting a small yet melodious giggle from the woman.

She is his mom, Anzaki Furihata. The reason why he is excited just by seeing her is that she works as a stewardess for an international airline, so it is such a rare occasion for him to see his mother, just once or twice a week.

But this week is a bit different. Usually, his mom would come home every weekend. However, due to an emergency flight, his mother could not go home last week, so her presence now is a good surprise for Furihata.

"Yes, Kou-chan. I am home. Now, go take a shower! You stink!" She grimaced, pinching her own nose. But by the look of her playful eyes, Furihata knows that it was just banter, so he decided to rub his face to her neck.

"Eww!! Now you make me feel dirty! Seriously, take a shower!"

"Yes, Kaa-chan! Hahahaha!" He left his mom quickly and went to his room much to his mother's amusement.

Fifteen minutes later, Furihata found himself sitting with his mom, enjoying dinner while exchanging words. It's just a simple pasta, but Furihata is still happy to eat with his mom.

"So, Kaa-chan, where did you go this past week?" He started a conversation with a curious tone.

"Oh, I went with a very rich man touring around the USA. It started in New York and ended up in Los Angeles. And speaking of the USA, I brought you something. Wait a minute." She raised up from her seat and go back to her room.

"Kaa-chan, you know you don't have to buy me anything, right? My monthly allowance is more than enough."

"Nonsense. As a mother, it is my privilege to pamper you a lot, so don't be stingy for yourself. Here, open it." She said while giving Furihata a box.

Furihata didn't really know what to say, so he just muttered a small 'thank you' to his mom.

"Well, you can thank me after you see what it is. Go, open it." Seeing the eager look from his mom, Furihata couldn't help but be curious. He opened the box carefully and takes a glance at what is inside the box. When he recognized what it is, he gasped,

"Is that what I think it is?" He turned around, asking for confirmation from his mom.

"See for yourself."

And Furihata did what his mom said. There, he saw a white clean basketball jersey with the word 'CLIPPERS' on the front side and 'PAUL' with the big number '3' on the back side printed beautifully. That was the jersey from his favorite player, Chris Paul.

"I remember that he is your favorite player. I don't get why you are not a fan of Kobe Bryant or the LA Lakers just like the other teenager, but this jersey is way cheaper than the Lakers one, so you are lucky-OOF!" His mom couldn't finish what she said as she was engulfed once again in a hug from Furihata.

"You remember my favorite player and even brought me its jersey? Thank you thank you thank you!!" He couldn't stop blabbering about how grateful he was.

"Well, how can I not remember the first time you watched the NBA game? You wouldn't stop talking about it for three days." She replied amusedly.

"You also remember that, huh?" Furihata smiles at the memories of himself watching the game between the LA Clippers against LA Lakers four years ago.

Even though the Lakers won at the end of the game, Furihata decided to be a fan of the Clippers as he was clearly impressed by the team. That was the first time he was attracted to basketball.

"Just like I said, of course, I remember. Now, Kou-chan, tell me how is your new school? I am sorry that I couldn't see you for your first day as a high school student." She apologized, looking a bit sad.

"Don't worry, Kaa-chan, I understand. It's good. I made some new friends and joined their basketball team." His mom smiles fondly at the mention of the basketball team.

"So, you finally join a basketball team, huh?"

"Yup! Anyway, tomorrow is the last test to join the team, so I will have to be in my best condition for it."

"Hoo.. That means you need to sleep early, right?"

"Yeah, I will do that after I am done with my homework and some light study, don't worry about me."

"You are growing up too fast, Kou-chan" His mom muttered lowly while giving him a sad smile. She is sad and a bit mad at herself for missing a lot of Furihata's childhood. Fortunately, Furihata understands that she did it for him and never makes a fuss about it.

They exchanged words for a while before Furihata decided to prepare for tomorrow. But not before he asked a question,

"Kaa-chan, how long will you stay?"

"I have a week off, so I will be here until it is finished." Furihata beamed at what he just heard.

"Good! We have to hang out more this week!" His mom smiles at Furihata's enthusiasm and nodded.

"Well, I will be in my room then. Good night, Kaa-chan!"

"Good night, Kou-chan."

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The next morning, Furihata is in a good mood. The presence of his mom and the prospect of having her for a week is enough for him to enjoy the day. Now, he found himself standing alongside five other first-years on the rooftop, facing his coach, Aida Riko, as they will have the final test to join the team.

"I know that you guys are strong." Riko started speaking. "But, no matter how serious you practice, you will always stay weak if you are thinking 'maybe one day, I will do it' or 'as long as I can'. I want you to have a big concrete objective and the will to achieve it no matter what." She paused to let her words sink in.

"That's why now! From here! You will shout your class number! Your name! And your goal for this year! If you can't do this, I will have something worse for you." She chuckled darkly at the end of her speech, gleaming at the prospect of the last part.

Meanwhile, the first years are not amused with the coach's antics. Instead, they are worried about the test.

"Will it affect our student record?" Furihata spoke for his teammate's worries.

"Don't worry about it. If you don't have the gut to tell us your goal, how can I know that you are serious?" She replied, still with her smirk. Furihata sighed, knowing that it will create a problem. However, before he decided what to do, Kagami spoke his mind.

"Isn't that too easy? It won't even be a test." He sighed before running jumping to the fence and shouting,

"CLASS 1-B, TAIGA KAGAMI! I WILL DEFEAT THE GENERATION OF MIRACLES AND BECOME THE NUMBER ONE IN JAPAN!"

His shout is so loud it caused a lot of chatter from the students, wondering what is happening there.

Riko nodded, satisfied with what Kagami did before she got startled by a voice that suddenly came from behind,

"Excuse me, I am not good at shouting. Will it be alright for me to use this?" Kuroko asked while showing a megaphone in his hand. It took Riko a few seconds to calm herself before she replied hesitantly,

"Sure, I guess.."

"CLASS 1-B, TETSUYA KUROKO, I WILL MAKE KAGAMI-KUN AND THIS TEAM THE NUMBER ONE IN JAPAN!"

Riko turned her attention to the other and asked,

"So, what will you do?"

Furihata sighed. It will definitely create trouble. He just hopes that it worth it.

He took a step forward before doing something similar,

"CLASS 1-A, KOUKI FURIHATA! TO BE THE NUMBER ONE IN JAPAN!"

Yep, he hopes that what he did is worth the trouble.

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Author note :

Not a fan of the Clippers or Chris Paul himself, but this is the easiest way to develop the main character. Not the best physically, but can lead the team with his basketball IQ and leadership.

The next chapter will be the start of the match against Kaijo and Kise! It will be on Sunday night or Monday morning, so please bear with me. Thank you!