18 First Meeting

Before leaving with Alexandra, Akihiko had already informed Charles beforehand of his small trip with his Coach.

Alexandra and Akihiko were in the school parking lot as Alexandra lead Akihiko to her car. As a retired WNBA player, she was driving a black Cadillac CT4. The pay gap between NBA players and WNBA players were huge. The average WNBA rookie can only make $50,000 annually compared to the average NBA rookie who can make millions from their first contract.

In Akihiko's perspective, it was good that Alexandra didn't seem to be a high maintenance person. She was not wearing any luxury brands or anything, she was just a simple woman. That is what Akihiko liked about her. If the NBA players can blow their millions away, just think about the WNBA players with their salaries.

An example of bankruptcy happening to WNBA players was what happened to Sheryl Woopes.

had applied for bankruptcy back in 2004 even though she had banked 50 million dollars from her WNBA career. Though, the cause of her bankruptcy was due to crooked lawyers, agents and bad financial decisions.

Akihiko didn't think too much of it as he entered the car, there he was greeted by a feminine scent as he sat on the front passenger seat. Surely, people won't gossip about him entering his coach's car right? Right?

When he looked at the rearview mirror, he saw Charles with his car following after them. But he let him be because of the potential dangers that may happen. While on the road, Akihiko finally broke the ice and asked

"Hey Coach, what was it like in the WNBA?"

Alexandra gave a smile and said

"Well, I really enjoyed those times in the WNBA. It made be feel alive, because I really do enjoy basketball."

Akihiko looked into her eyes and saw a trace of sadness so he immediately changed the topic and said,

"By the way, who will you introduce to me?"

Alexandra then replied

"Just two little idiots that I train personally."

Akihiko nodded as Alexandra was the one to ask the next question

"What is the Akashi's heir doing here in the US in the first place?"

Akihiko answered her with a serious tone

"I came here to just play basketball"

Determination was written on Akihiko's face as he said that

Alexandra suddenly bursted out laughing

"You should have seen the expression of your face when you said that."

Akihiko flushed in embarrassment as he turned sideways in order for her not see his face

"What'd I do to you?" he said

Throughout the whole trip, the two enjoyed each other's company. By the time they had arrived at the location, they didn't notice how much time had passed as they talked.

The two got out of the car as they arrived at a basketball court. Akihiko immediately saw two boys sitting there, one had black hair while the other had dark red hair. When the two boys saw Alexandra, they ran towards her and immediately greeted her.

"Alex Teach!!"

Alexandra patted the two's heads. But what surprised Akihiko the most was that, it was only head pats. There were no acts of kissing like in the original. But when Akihiko thought about it, he would dislike Alexandra kissing other boys. But if she did, he won't mind. It's something that he would just rather prefer

But the two looked at me as they were wondering who Akihiko was.

"Oh, this is Akihiko. The two of you will play against him. And Akihiko, this wild kid is called Taiga while the other one is called Tatsuya"

Akihiko then said

"It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Kagami who was against my appearance said

"What?! But, he doesn't look that much Coach."

Alexandra flicked his forehead and said

"You'll see on the court."

Akihiko didn't think too much of it as he and Kagami went on the court. Kagami was as tall as Akihiko, but what Akihiko wanted to see was Kagami's revered jumping ability.

Kagami got the ball as he immediately tried to drive towards the rim, as he got pass Akihiko he gave a smirk towards Alexandra and said

"See? Nothing much"

But when he was about to lay the ball up, the ball in Kagami's hand was swatted away as he exclaimed

"HUH?!"

The ball was now in Akihiko's possession as he hadn't started to dribble the ball yet. Akihiko was in a triple threat position as what he did first was do a jab step. After throwing Kagami off, Akihiko then did one of his signature fakes by only using one hand. Kagami jumped as he thought Akihiko was going to shoot.

Himuro, who was watching suddenly asked Alexandra a question

"Who is he?"

Alexandra then answered

"Maybe the most talented player I have ever seen"

After hearing his teacher's reply, Himuro had now viewed Akihiko in a different direction. If Alexandra praised him that much, then it ought to be correct.

Akihiko proceeded to lay the ball up as it went in. Kagami was too late to respond defensively. The ball was once again in Akihiko's hands as he immediately started to dribble this time around.

Kagami swore that Akihiko had said the words

"Hm, how about using this one."

Most fans tend to forget this one fact: In the middle of a dribble, you can take any steps you want. Akihiko started dribbling slowly as he looked at the basketball. He then did a step to the left but as he did that, he did a crossover to his right hand. At the same time, Akihiko managed to create a lot of space. This was called the stiff leg crossover as Akihiko just pulled-up and sank the shot.

For Akihiko's third possession, he wanted something more straightforward. So what he did was just a simple crossover to the left side. As Kagami was about to catch up, Akihiko suddenly did a half spin move. Kagami stumbled down as Akihiko once again pulled-up and sank the shot.

Things wasn't looking good for Kagami as the ball was once again in Akihiko's hands as he hadn't missed a single shot. Akihiko dribbled the ball between his legs as he had his usual cold face while looking at Kagami. This just managed to piss Kagami off because of how Kagami was losing. Kagami then prepared as he saw Akihiko's hand suddenly change to his left. He was expecting a crossover but..