Chapter VI

POV: Kojima

When Sugahara left my house, I went to lie down for a bit.

I was tired.

My thoughts were all scattered, I couldn’t collect a single thought.

I felt hot, and sluggish, like I was sick.

Not making the tryouts was something I wasn’t prepared for.

I always thought in my head that it was going to happen.

Like it was my destiny.

“I’m such a fool,” I whispered as I started to drift off.

I woke up at 9 p.m. still disoriented and felt unrested.

Still, I got up to start cooking dinner.

I haven't eaten anything since lunch.

I just passed out from physical and mental exhaustion.

I chugged a few bottles of water since I was so dehydrated.

There was a stew I prepared yesterday, and all I have to do now is heat it up on the stove.

After eating dinner, I went to the bathroom to wash up.

When I opened the door, I noticed something on my sinktop.

It was a brand new basketball and a written note.

“Did mom stop by?” I thought to myself.

When I picked up the note to read, I realized it was from Sugahara.

I remembered that he used my bathroom this morning, so that must have been when he put this stuff here.

The note read, “Thanks for helping me out so much today, I saw this at the store and it reminded me of you, enjoy.” - Sugahara.

“His handwriting sure is terrible,” I said aloud.

Seriously, what's with this guy.

Could he get anymore cooler?

I picked up the basketball, feeling the intricate textures and grips.

Upon looking up, I saw someone in the mirror.

It was a hopeless good for nothing, who had given up too soon.

His hair and face were a mess, with eyes that had no shine or light at all.

The person in the mirror was me.

Am I just going to let myself rot like this?

I have been playing basketball since the age of 8.

It’s been 7 years since then, and I have yet to achieve anything to be proud of.

However, in the back of my mind, I had always held hope that things would eventually change.

That if I just kept pursuing basketball, everything eventually would fall into place on its own.

This whole time I thought I was special.

Now I know that I can’t rely on this hope.

It’s been completely crushed and thrown away into the wind.

I went into the living room and picked up a piece of paper.

It was the paper Sugahara left behind that contained his contact information.

I’m hopeless, but even so, I should have never relied on hope anyway.

To prove myself, I’ll have to work even harder.

Even then it may not be enough.

But I’ll never know if I don't try.

Sugahara gave me an opportunity to better myself.

I’d be stupid as hell not to take it.

I sent a text message to Sugahara, reinstating my drive.

POV: Sugahara

I replied back to him immediately.

“Meet me tomorrow at 8 a.m. at the Superplex Gym. Be ready to play ball,” I wrote back to him.

Under my guidance, I should be able to give Kojima the push he needs to succeed in the tryouts.

After watching him play for a short bit of time today, it’s evident that he’s uncomfortable at scoring the basketball himself.

He is skilled indeed at creating plays and assisting his teammates, but his unwillingness to shoot wide-open shots was the clear reason why coach Miyamura didn’t select him.

Anyway after I messaged Kojima I went back to sleep.

Or at least I tried, but I unexpectedly received a phone call.

“Man, can a guy just get some shut-eye for crying out loud?” I said grabbing my phone again.

It was from a saved number, Onodera Kota

It’s not every day that he calls me, though it's always great to hear from him.

He’s living overseas in America for the time being, so he only ever calls me in the dead of night.

I picked up and talked to him for a while, before eventually falling asleep.

✾❀✾

POV: Kojima

I crossed the street over to the gym.

Superplex Gym is one of the biggest and fanciest workout facilities in town.

A membership I recall is 14,000 yen per month.

I stood by the entrance, waiting for Sugahara.

He told me to meet him here at 8 in the morning, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Even so, I kept waiting for a while longer.

It was now 15 minutes passed 8 and I didn’t know what to do.

As I was pondering however, I saw someone running towards me.

“HEY!” they yelled.

It was Sugahara, wearing a grey hoodie and a duffle bag.

“Here I got us day passes,” he handed me a small paper wristband.

Being here at 8 in the morning almost certainly meant that we would be late for school.

“Hey, when are we going to get to class?” I asked him.

“We’re not, we're going to take the day off to train,”

“We’ll get back probably when tryouts start,” Sugahara announced.

“It’s the second day of school and we’re already skipping?” I said with a blunt expression.

“Relax, it’s not the end of the world, it’ll be worth it, you’ll see,” he said reassuringly.

Inside the gym, we navigated a few floors up where there were a couple of basketball courts.

When we arrived, we noticed a lot of people playing.

These people were all grown men.

“Perfect!” Sugahara said.

“The goal is to dominate against all the competition here,”

“Here’s your assignment Kojima. Any game we play today, I need you to score at least half of the points,”

“The reason Miyamura did not pick you was because you are hesitant to score the ball on your own. Don’t let fear hold you back, you won't know if you’ll miss if you don't take the shot,” Sugahara explained to me.

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Looking back at yesterday, I was mainly a passer, I don't recall even scoring a single point at all.

I didn’t know Sugahara even paid attention at all to me.

I guess it was because he always finished his games quickly, that he was able to observe.

“Alright then, sounds good,” I replied.

“Yup, this will definitely iron out some of your flaws, that's for sure,” he told me.

We stepped onto the floor and waited for the next.

Eventually, two spots opened up, prompting for Sugahara and me to join the empty void.

We were on the same team, along with 3 strangers, everyone on the court looked to be at least in their 20s or 30s.

We decided to shoot from the three-point line to decide who gets the first possession.

Sugahara had the ball but handed it over to me to shoot.

I couldn’t let my team down, I had to make it.

I shot it as everyone on the court watching,

Swishhh

Luckily I had made it.

“See? You’re definitely above average in scoring ability, don’t be afraid to show it,” Sugahara said to me.

I nodded and we began to start playing.

I ran the ball up and down the court.

Sugahara took the left side and the three strangers covered the other ends.

I passed to ball to an open teammate who shot the ball reluctantly and was able to make the shot, scoring a 2-pointer midrange shot.

2-0

“Don’t forget your goal, Kojima,” Sugahara came reminding me.

Before the game started, everyone agreed to play until 21.

That means I would have to score at least 10 or 11 to get around half.

The other team would make a three-point shot off a catch, after passing the ball around several times.

2-3

In our next possession, Sugahara set me a screen, blocking out my opponent, and allowing me to drive freely to my left.

Sugahara’s defender swiftly switched onto me, but after the successful screen, Sugahara charged forward towards the basket.

I passed the ball at a low angle, seamlessly slipping through the defenders.

Sugahara caught the ball and was ready to score.

He stopped on a dime and pump-faked a shot, causing the two defenders to jump and contest the shot.

Sugahara smiled and passed me the ball quickly and strongly.

I caught the ball at the center of my chest and knew that this was an open opportunity.

With no one guarding me properly, I laid the ball up towards the rim, softly falling through the basket.

4-3

Those were my first two points, 8 more to go.

The opponent’s next possession was unsuccessful, I grabbed the rebound and brought it up.

With no one really open to pass it to, I had to create the offense.

With a quick jab step, I was able to shift my defender slightly.

That slight movement was enough for me to cross over, and rush past my defender.

With him at my tail, I stopped and pushed off my feet strongly.

I shot a mid-range shot with my defender trying to block me from my right side.

I let go of the shot in time and it was able to find its way into the basket.

“Alright, Kojima!” Sugahara yelled at me.

6-3

The game kept progressing and with the help of my teammates continuing to feed me the ball, I continued to sharpen my offensive move set.

After the game ended, I was able to make a total of 10 points.

Adding to my already scored 4 points, I was make 2 more layups and a 12-foot jump shot.

We had won the game 21-18 in an intense scrimmage.

Sugahara and I came together to wait for the next match.

“That was good Kojima, you just need to keep at it at that pace.”

“Getting a hot hand early on will boost the likelihood of getting more passes from your teammates. That’s going to be pretty important when the tryouts start,” Sugahara told me.

“Yeah, I agree,” I replied.

“Looks like we got new competition,” Sugahara directed towards new oncoming players.

“Let's do this,” I said.

“Let's go!” Sugahara replied.

A new game would start, and eventually end. I would reach my quota of at least 10 points.

This would be true for all the next oncoming matches as well.

For the rest of our time in the gym, we were unstoppable.

On an open driving lane I speeded towards the hoop, but instead of scoring it myself, I bounced the ball up really high in the air.

Followed by that, Sugahara ran past me, looking at me with an excited smile.

He leaped high in the air, attempting a lobbed-up dunk, similar to how he tried in the tryouts yesterday.

Everything became slow and focused as everyone in the gym anticipated whether Sugahara would slam it in or not.

When he was about 2 inches away from dunking it, he stopped and just laid it in at the very last second.

“Dammit! I almost had that,” Sugahara commented.

“Woah you were pretty close, even yesterday you were a moment away,” I said.

“Yeah, I guess I’m too tired now that we’ve played about 10 matches. I’d say yesterday was my best attempt ever,” he remarked.

“Oh really? So you’ve never dunked before?” I asked him.

“Nope, I only started to attempt them recently,” Sugahara replied to me.

The game would eventually end with us winning it.

We have now played 11 games since we got here, and we won all of them.

Though Sugahara took a back seat to allow me more opportunities to score, he caught some fire and would completely demolish all of his defenders.

The way he plays is so dominant and forceful but I have yet to see him break a true sweat.

He has yet to give it his all, this whole time he’s just been toying with the competition.

What sort of beast is he? What are his true capabilities? All of that has remained a mystery to me.

We sat down after the game ended to rest and rehydrate.

“If you were able to play this well against grown men, you’ll have no trouble shining in the tryouts,” Sugahara said to me.

“Yeah, I’m more confident than ever,” I told him.

We walked out of the gym and went to grab a snack before heading back home.

“Hey let’s stop at my place,” Sugahara said.

“Your place? If not mistaken weren’t you just homeless yesterday?” I said in a joking manner.

“Haha, looks like you're capable of making jokes after all,” Sugahara smiled.

“But yeah, well things change quickly,” he continued.

We went to this Hotel called Luxury Haven and went up to the eighth floor.

Sugahara opened a door with a keycard and we headed inside.

“Tada!” he remarked.

This room was insanely huge, possibly bigger than my entire house. It wasn’t just the room, the entire hotel just screamed expensive.

“Did you win the lottery or something?” I asked in awe of the place.

“Well if I did, I wouldn’t tell anyone now would I?” he replied.

“Anyways, let's wash up before tryouts,” he added.

✾❀✾

POV: Kinoshita

The light from the sun poured from the window into the classroom.

It was our second day here at Sakura High. Our teacher was giving a lecture while every student in the room was writing down notes.

I sat next to Kaori, she was extremely focused on class.

She’s a grade A student.

Though I’m not as studious as her, I still maintain great grades as well.

I stared across the room pretty often today, noticing an empty desk bathing in the sun's rays. It was Sugahara’s desk.

Geez where could he be? It’s only the second day of school and he's missing.

The subjects we were talking about in class today seemed pretty important so I decided to take some notes for him. Kaori glanced at me.

“Are you doing what I think you doing?” she asked me.

“U-um, I guess?” I replied.

“Tch, Sugahara can take his own notes Aiya, it’s his fault he’s not here. He should at least bear that responsibility,”

I pouted in response. Wow, Kaori sure doesn’t like Sugahara. I mean she just met him yesterday and he doesn’t seem bad at all.

I wonder where he is today though, hopefully, he didn’t get sick or anything.

The school day ended, and everyone started to leave class.

Me and Kaori walked together in the halls.

“Should we study at the library again today,” I asked her.

“Hmm, that wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Kaori responded.

We started to head over to the library.

“This school is so big, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we attend Sakura!” I said.

“For sure, we have so many resources at our disposal, I think we’re in for a good 3 years,” Kaori said.

As we approached the library someone caught my eye.

The library was located really close to the school entrance, so you could see people exit and enter the building.

The person that caught my eye was Kojima.

But following Kojima was also Sugahara.

So was he with Kojima the whole time today? Or am I missing something?

They headed downstairs towards the gymnasium.

Come to think of it, there’s still a second basketball tryout. Kojima is probably going to attend.

Yesterday at the tryouts, Kaori and I watched as Kojima left, sadly being unpicked for the roster.

When I spoke with him afterward, he sounded so sad.

Kojima always spoke in a monotone way, so it’s pretty hard to tell what he was thinking, but yesterday was different.

You could tell he was bothered by the fact he

didn’t make it.

I started walking towards them instead of the library.

“Hey, where are you going?!” Kaori yelled to me.

“I need to use the restroom, I’ll be back!” I replied.

POV: Sugahara

We walked towards the same gym from yesterday, where the tryouts are being held.

When we arrived we saw a large group of boys surrounding the door.

It looks like people aren’t quite ready to give up yet.

Same goes for Kojima, however I’m pretty certain that he’ll make it with the way he is now.

We entered the gym and Coach Miyamura organized everyone similar to yesterday.

“Alright then, good luck out there,” I told Kojima as I started to head back out since I’m not needed here.

He nodded and proceeded to go change into his sportswear.

I left the gym through the main entrance that we came though.

At first I intended to wait out here until the tryouts ended, but then out of nowhere I felt a big whack at the top of my head.

image [https://i.imgur.com/dunZNhn.jpg]

I turned around to see Kinoshita standing in front of me holding a small notebook.

We starred at each other for a moment, but then she handed me the notebook.

“I saw you weren’t in class today so I u-uh… yanno, took some notes for you,” she explained to me embarrassed.

“I see, well thank you! I appreciate it a lot Kinoshita,” I said to her.

“Yeah, no problem.” Kinoshita said.

“Anyway, where’d you go today? And why did you come back after school ended?”

“Well me and Kojima actually skipped today to get in some training. The tryouts were again today and skipping was the only way to get him prepared realistically,” I replied.

“Woah, so you guys are actually pretty close huh?” she added.

“No, not really, I only met the guy yesterday. But l’d like to think of him as a good friend,” I said.

“What? Only yesterday? I thought he said you guys were good friends from way back or something,” Kinoshita questioned.

“Yeahh… that was pretty much a lie,” I responded.

“I see, well it’s good to see Kojima meet new people, he’s always hanged out with the same crowd, never really opening himself up.”

“I don’t think any of his middle school friends are here at Sakura, only Kaori and I are,” Kinoshita said.

“I don’t think I know anybody here either actually,” I mentioned.

“Yeah same, I guess I know a few other girls other than Kaori, but that’s about it,” she said.

“Maybe we should… get to know each other then?” Kinoshita said playing with her hands.

“Yeah, I mean considering that we’re classmates, I think it would be nice to be friends,” I told her.

She nodded happily, but then someone else stepped into the frame.

“Well what do we have here? Aiya I thought you went to the restroom?” Haruno said approaching us.

Kinoshita looked quite embarrassed and avoided eye contact with Haruno.

“E-ehh, well yanno, I saw Kojima and Sugahara and wanted to say hi.” Kinoshita replied.

“Yeah, whatever you say,” Haruno said visibly annoyed.

“Hey, do you guys know how I can get in the high view of the gym? You guys were up there yesterday right?” I asked them.

Yesterday I noticed they were spectating the tryouts at the top level of the gym. I figured I might as well go watch Kojima to kill some time.

“Oh, yeah, you just go up through the corridor upstairs,” Kinoshita said.

After Kinoshita gave me the directions, I thanked her and Haruno before heading upstairs. The high view of the gym was an ideal spot to watch the tryouts.

From there, I could see the entire court and all the players, including Kojima.

As I made my way up, I noticed that Kinoshita and Haruno were following me. "You guys coming to watch too?" I asked, surprised to see them interested in the tryouts.

"Yeah, we thought we'd check it out. Kojima's trying out again, right?" Kinoshita replied, her voice filled with curiosity.

Haruno just nodded, her arms crossed as she walked beside us.

We reached the top view, and the sight of the gym below was impressive.

The players were warming up, and Coach Miyamura was setting up the drills.

I scanned the court for Kojima and found him looking more focused than ever.

It was clear he was determined to make the team this time.

I turned to Kinoshita and Haruno, who were both peering down at the court with interest.

"This should be good," I said, feeling a sense of anticipation in the air.

"Yeah, I hope Kojima makes it," Kinoshita replied, her eyes still fixed on the court below.

As the tryouts began, the three of us watched from above, each of us silently rooting for Kojima to succeed.

POV: Kojima

As I warmed up on the court, I could feel the intensity of the tryouts.

Today was different from yesterday; instead of straight games, we were going through a series of drills.

I knew I had to perform well in each one to secure my spot on the team.

The first drill was a series of layups. I focused on my form and executed each one perfectly.

Next came the dribbling drills, where I maneuvered through cones with precision.

I could feel the eyes of Coach Miyamura and the other players on me, but I didn't let it shake my confidence.

We moved on to shooting drills, and I found my rhythm, sinking shot after shot.

The drills continued with passing exercises and defensive maneuvers, and I made sure to give my all in each one.

Finally, the drills came to an end, and Coach Miyamura announced that there would be one last deciding game for the last two roster spots.

My heart raced as I listened to the instructions.

The remaining players were divided into two teams; my team wore red jerseys, while the opposing team wore green.

As I pulled on my red jersey, I knew this was it.

This game was my final opportunity to show that I belonged here.

I glanced up at the high view seeing Sugahara watching.

I couldn’t disappoint this time around.

The whistle blew, and the game began.