Price To Pay (Akashi X Riko)

Chapter 4

After being admitted into Tokyo Uni, Riko relaxed for the first time in months. Free of anxiety, she spent almost all of her time filming the review videos with Akashi and helping her dad train Seirin during their winter training camp. She loved what she was doing now, and everything seemed perfect.

She spent all her time doing what she loved, not doing anything for anyone except for herself.

Akashi and met a lot to discuss the review videos, but they also talked about other things and got to know each other more. Riko was glad she did, because she used to spend all her time with the boys from Seirin, and she was truly fond of them, but other than Kiyoshi, they're just ordinary stupid teenage boys. But Akashi was far from ordinary. His well-mannered speech itself showed the depth of his knowledge, which was always pleasant for Riko whenever they talked. She was glad they were having these conversations.

During the winter vacation, Seirin held another "basketball classroom", a teaching program for kids, along with regulars from Kaijo, Shutoku and Too. A lot of people volunteered, even those who have graduated showed up as well. Murasakibara and Himuro had came to Tokyo during the vacation as well, and Kagami was happy to see his brother. Akashi was already in Tokyo, and he showed up at Seirin like he had lately. They gathered at Seirin and painted the posters together, and passed them out later.

During the process, Riko saw a lot of familiar faces-players a year older than her, among them are Imayoshi and Miyaji from Shutoku. Both of them attend Tokyo Uni and play on the school basketball team, making them her senpai, so she greeted them out of politeness.

Riko was friendly with Miyaji, they were already acquainted while painting Graffiti at the street court and from last year's basketball classroom, but she wasn't exactly fond of the former Too captain. She heard that Imayoshi was already the captain of the school team, and she had a feeling that he was rather serious about recruiting her to be a manager, something she has no intention of doing anymore.

Imayoshi and Miyaji both greeted her back and gathered around her. The trio didn't stood out among the crowd, but some still stopped what they were doing and starred, curious of what they were going to talk about.

"Aida-san, it's been a while!" Miyaji cheerfully said. "Oh, I watched all your review videos! With you as the coach, no wonder Seirin is so impressive!"

Riko smiled, but before she could say 'thank you', Imayoshi cut in.

"Now that you're retired, are you sure you don't want to continue to do what you excel at? Are you really gonna give it all up?"

"He's right, Aida-san! With your abilities, Imayoshi can even arrange for you to skip the interviews and tryouts for normal people." Miyaji encouraged her. "The school team of Tokyo Uni is really good, it will be totally worth your while!"

"Thank you for your appreciation and faith, Miyaji-san, Imayoshi-san. But I realize that I have given all of time to help others achieve their dreams, allowing them to do what they like. But I only want to do what I like in college for the next four years. Sorry for turning down your offer."

"Oh, don't sweat about it. It is your right to do whatever you want!" Miyaji assured her. "But what club do you want to join if you're not joining the basketball club?"

"I have no idea yet...but I think I'll still be doing the review videos and analyzing games, even though I'm not in the basketball club. "

"That's good to hear." Imayoshi sighed dramatically. "Though it's a pity that you really are determined not to become a manager."

"But the review videos serve the same purpose! You know, my brother, the current captain of Shutoku,"Miyaji said while pointing to a teen who looked a lot like him "makes the Shutoku players watch every single of your review video." Miyaji said.