“Are my current attributes good or bad?” Hibari was not sure, but his strength, speed, and stamina were all relatively outstanding.
“Decided.
Tomorrow I’ll go see what level my basketball club is at.” He was only a first-year middle schooler right now.
Teiko Middle School’s ace was still Shuzo Nijimura, and there was no sign of the rainbow squad yet.
Based on the fact that Shuzo Nijimura had only played his first year last year, Hibari should be in the same year as the Generation of Miracles.
“Being in the same era as those monsters is such a pain.” Hibari was about to take a bath and sleep when his phone rang.
A text.
Yukino had sent it.
“Home?” She did not even include the “yet.” Very Yukino.
“Yeah.
About to shower.” On the other side, Yukino had already returned to her room and was staring blankly at her phone.
The instant the text arrived, she opened it at once.
“So perfunctory!” It was just a few curt words.
She puffed out her cheeks and tapped out another long message, then revised and deleted it over and over.
In the end, only a few words remained: “I’ll go to the basketball club tomorrow.” Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the words showing the message had been sent and covered her face with one hand.
What she had actually wanted to express was something like, “I’ll cheer for you a little.” But in the end, it had become this.
It sounded more like, “I’ll see how long you can keep this up,” full of disdain.
Ding-dong.
Very soon, Hibari replied.
His response was only a few words: “Come if you want.” Yukinoshita, who had been feeling a little regretful, became unhappy again when she saw Hibari’s indifferent reply.
She grabbed her phone and sent him another text.
But Hibari did not reply again.
He had gone off to wash himself clean.
…
The next day.
Chiba Prefecture, Chiba Middle School.
Hibari walked into school at the last possible moment.
He had always had one unknown virtue: perseverance.
Whether in his previous life or this one, Hibari still disliked studying just as much as ever.
Every time he went to school, it felt like stepping onto a battlefield.
“Morning.” “Morning.” Hibari sat down and greeted Saki Kawasaki at the neighboring desk.
Like that Yukino girl, he did not have many friends, because he had no interest in building relationships with a bunch of little brats.
Saki Kawasaki was an exception.
Because of her family’s financial situation, Saki Kawasaki had been forced to start working part-time in middle school to help support the household.
At a young age, she had already developed a strong sense of responsibility toward her family.
She was one of the few classmates Hibari could talk to.
“Went out to work again last night?” “Yeah.
Mom and Dad both had overtime last night, so I stayed home to look after Taishi and Keika.
I didn’t go out to work until after ten.” “That sounds exhausting.
I can smell the exhaustion on your breath.” “…That’s sexual harassment.” Saki Kawasaki hurriedly covered her mouth.
She had heard that people who stayed up late had worse breath.
Then she noticed the basketball Hibari had brought into the classroom and asked, “So?
What are you planning to do at school with that thing?” “As you can plainly see, starting today, I’m going to play basketball.” “Somehow, I feel like your motives aren’t pure.
Are you trying to attract girls’ attention?
For example, that young lady Yukinoshita?” “How could that be?
With this face, would I need to go through so much trouble?” Hibari was very confident in his looks.
Even across all of anime, he would belong to the top tier.
“Besides, Yukino isn’t that interested in sports.” “Yukino…” In Japan, only very close people called each other by given name.
Normally, people used surnames.
“You and that young lady are close?” “Mm.
Proper childhood friends.
Of course, don’t lose heart.
Anime shows it all the time: childhood friends can’t beat the girl who falls from the sky.
I have high hopes for you, Saki.
You’re a good woman I acknowledge.” “Who asked you to have high hopes for me?!” Saki threw him a dirty look.
At this stage, she truly had not considered romance.
Who would accept a woman who had to go home after school to take care of her younger brother and sister, then work at night, with no time to keep them company?
“No?
I was thinking that once I’m rich someday, I’ll definitely keep you as my mistress.” “Get lost!
Who wants to be kept by you?
Stop bothering me.
I’m going to sleep.” Saki glared at him, then buried her head and went to sleep.
Hibari did not disturb her.
He took out a manga and started reading.
…
Afternoon.
The moment the bell rang, Hibari greeted Saki and left the classroom, heading straight for the basketball club.
In the eyes of the Japanese, Chiba Prefecture was a somewhat out-of-the-way place.
Geographically, it lay east of Tokyo, surrounded by the sea on three sides, with the Pacific Ocean to the southeast.
Fishing was an important source of income for the locals.
The only relatively prosperous areas were those close to Tokyo.
Chiba Prefectural Middle School, abbreviated as Chiba Middle School.
For many years, its basketball club had been around the upper-middle level.
However, with the arrival of a certain genius last year, Chiba Middle School had risen abruptly.
Not only had they reached the national tournament finals, they had also broken school history by making the top sixteen in the nation.
Japan had dozens of prefectures, and the number of participating teams was countless.
To seize a spot in the national top sixteen was already quite an eye-catching achievement.
One had to know that the national tournament used a best-of-one single-elimination format from start to finish.
Any team that could consistently make the top sixteen could be called a powerhouse.
Therefore, Chiba Middle School had increased the basketball club’s funding by a full 30% this year, hoping they could produce another excellent result.
And the genius who led Chiba Middle School’s sudden rise was named Eikichi Nebuya.
When Hibari arrived at the basketball club, he found that the facilities all had a sense of age.
After all, this was 2006.
The basketball hoops and the floor in the club were not very different from Shohoku’s basketball club in Slam Dunk.
“Kid, you’re the new student joining the basketball club today?” Just as Hibari was sighing over how retro the gym felt, a burst of footsteps broke the quiet.
Hibari turned around and saw Eikichi Nebuya, his body packed with knotted muscle.
In Japanese school clubs, recruitment was generally concentrated in the first few days after school started.
After that, it was hard to attract new students.
Most had already been divided among other clubs.
When Hibari submitted his application to join that afternoon, Eikichi Nebuya had been surprised for a while.
“Yeah.
I’m Hibari.” “Not bad!” Eikichi Nebuya’s voice rumbled.
He noticed Hibari’s build.
Although Hibari’s muscles were not as full as his own, they were firm enough.
One look and he could tell the boy was good material for basketball.
Eikichi Nebuya’s world was simple: if you wanted to play basketball well, your muscles had to be developed.
…
Please add this book to your library!