Chapter 223: The Summer They Stayed Behind
The roar of excitement drowned out the rumble of the train.
Sakuragi Hanamichi was the first to charge into the carriage.
"Wahahaha! The National Tournament! This genius has arrived!"
"Tremble before me, mere mortals!"
"Idiot. Get out of the way."
Rukawa Kaede kicked Sakuragi in the butt.
"You damn fox! You wanna fight?!"
"Sure."
"Bring it!"
The two immediately started wrestling at the carriage entrance.
Veins bulged on Akagi Takenori's forehead.
"You two idiots! Behave yourselves!"
BAM! BAM!
Two heavy punches of justice later, peace was restored to the world.
Juro stepped over the two "corpses" and found a window seat.
Outside, the scenery rushed backward.
The skyscrapers of Kanagawa gradually disappeared, replaced by vast fields and Mount Fuji in the distance.
Makino Juro closed his eyes and rested.
"Hey, Juro."
"What are you thinking about? You're smiling like some evil mastermind."
Mitsui sat beside him and handed him a can of coffee.
"I'm thinking…"
Makino Juro took the coffee, pulled the tab, and took a sip.
It was bitter, with a lingering sweetness afterward.
"I was thinking about those so-called powerhouse teams from all over the country."
"Sannoh Industrial, Meihou Industrial, Aiwa Academy… and what their faces will look like right now."
"Their faces?" Mitsui blinked.
"Yeah."
Makino Juro turned toward the window.
The light in his eyes burned even brighter than the sunlight outside, carrying an unmistakably arrogant edge.
"I wonder… when they see us 'country bumpkins'…"
"Will they be so scared they'll piss their pants?"
Mitsui froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.
He laughed so hard that tears nearly came out.
"Absolutely!"
"After all, we're Shohoku!"
The train accelerated, shooting forward like an arrow released from its bow.
The winds were changing.
A new story was about to begin.
...
Summer at Shohoku High School.
The cicadas screamed like they had completely lost their minds, shrieking at the top of their lungs until people's heads hurt.
The asphalt shimmered beneath the scorching sun, while waves of heat distorted the air.
The entire campus resembled a silent film that had been drained of all its actors.
Empty.
Dead quiet.
The final exams were over, and the noisy bunch who normally filled the school with chaos had all left.
There was no loudmouthed red-haired monkey.
No ice-cold Rukawa Kaede who seemed to carry the wind wherever he walked.
And certainly no Makino Juro, who spent every day looking like I'm so tired, don't bother me, and would lie down whenever he had the chance instead of sitting.
Shohoku was so quiet now that it almost felt…
Haunted.
"It's so hot…"
The little fan in Akagi Haruko's hand moved so quickly that it became a blur.
The bangs on her forehead were damp with sweat and stuck to her skin.
"Haruko, are we really going inside?"
"Everyone went to Hiroshima. There isn't even a ghost left in the school right now. I heard that around the old school building…"
Fujii stood beside her with two freshly opened marble sodas.
Her expression was more bitter than a bitter melon as she stared down the empty hallway and swallowed nervously.
"Stop!"
"Don't jinx us! You're only scaring yourself!"
Haruko spoke confidently, but she still instinctively tightened her grip around Fujii's arm.
"I just…"
"I wanted to come take a look."
"Even though we can't go to Hiroshima to watch the tournament in person, at least we can walk around here."
Suddenly...
THUD.
A dull impact echoed from inside, as though something heavy had crashed onto the floor.
Then came a sharp CLANG!
The miserable cry of a basketball striking the rim.
The two girls instantly froze.
Fujii's voice trembled.
"D-Did you hear that? Someone's… in the gym?"
"The key is clearly with my brother…"
Haruko's face went pale.
"Oh no…"
"It has to be that legend!"
"The legendary Headless Center!"
Fujii's imagination had already started playing a horror movie in her head.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The sound of dribbling came from inside again.
It was stiff.
Awkward.
Completely devoid of rhythm.
It sounded like a zombie with rigid limbs desperately trying to play basketball.
"Let's go take a look!"
Haruko took a deep breath.
This was her home court too.
She couldn't chicken out.
The two crept toward the gym entrance.
The door was slightly ajar.
Haruko suddenly pushed it open and shouted:
"Who's in there pretending to be a ghost?!"
Sunlight poured through the doorway, and the dust particles in the beam danced wildly in the air.
Under the basket.
A delinquent wearing a ridiculously flashy Hawaiian shirt and sporting an enormous pompadour was holding a basketball.
As for his posture…
Well, how should one put it?
The moment he heard the door open, the guy flinched.
The ball slipped straight out of his hands.
It traced an absolutely ridiculous arc through the air, failed to even touch the net, and slammed directly into the top edge of the backboard.
THUD.
It bounced away.
The guy awkwardly scratched his head and turned around.
A familiar row of dazzling white teeth appeared in his grin.
"Yo, Haruko."
Haruko and Fujii nearly dropped their jaws to the floor.
"Yo… Yohei?!"
Mito Yohei.
The chief strategist of the Sakuragi Army.
The guy who usually stood with his hands in his pockets, watching Sakuragi do stupid things with the indulgent smile of a doting father.
At that moment, he was standing on the free-throw line, drenched in sweat.
That floral shirt of his was practically blinding in the empty gym.
"What are you doing here?" Haruko asked, completely bewildered.
Yohei picked up the basketball that had rolled to his feet and pointed toward a sports bag in the corner.
He looked a little embarrassed.
"That idiot Hanamichi left in such a hurry that he forgot some stuff in the clubroom."
As he spoke, he bounced the ball twice.
THUMP. THUMP.
The ball felt as hard as a rock beneath his palm.
"I saw the basketball and got the urge to give it a try."
Yohei gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
"It really is difficult."
"Watching those guys play like their lives depended on it made it look pretty easy."
"But I've been trying all this time and haven't made a single shot."
Haruko couldn't help but let out a little laugh.
The horror movie instantly turned into a coming-of-age drama.
"So that's what happened."
...
The roar of Brother Akagi.
Sakuragi's utterly ridiculous laughter as he proclaimed, I'm a genius!
Those voices had once filled the gym.
Now, there was only the chorus of cicadas outside the window.
"It's so quiet."
A trace of loneliness darkened Haruko's eyes.
"Yeah."
"Without that noisy bunch around, it really does feel a little lonely."
Yohei caught the ball and imitated Mitsui Hisashi, striking a cool-looking shooting pose.
Of course, only the pose was cool.
"Come to think of it…"
Yohei looked at Haruko.
"Thanks to you for helping out during this training camp."
"Huh? No, no, no!"
Haruko hurriedly waved her hands, her eyes sparkling.
"We're the ones who should be thanking you!"
"If you guys hadn't stayed with Sakuragi all this time, there's no way he could have endured that hellish training."
Thinking about the night Takamiya Nozomi had been sent flying, the two exchanged amused smiles.
They sat down on the bench, and Fujii handed them their sodas.
POP—
The sound of the bottles opening was crisp and refreshing.
Yohei took a sip and stared at the orange-red rim of the basketball hoop.
Then he suddenly asked:
"Hey, Haruko."
"As someone who actually understands basketball, do you think those guys…"
"Have they gotten stronger?"
He might have been an outsider.
He might have spent most of his time standing on the sidelines as a spectator.
But more than anyone, he wanted those guys to win.
At the question, the light in Haruko's eyes immediately intensified.
"They're strong!"
"Super strong!"
She clenched her little fists, her voice filled with excitement.
"Brother's dominance in the paint has gone up another level!"
"Rukawa-kun is even stronger!"
"Miyagi-senpai is as fast as lightning!"
"And Mitsui-senpai's three-point shooting is even more accurate!"
"It's almost like the entire team has undergone a complete upgrade!"
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
👉 /MrBehringer