r18novel Chapter 13 A chance encounter at the beach; Sakuragi's intuition is pretty accurate.
Chapter 13 A chance encounter at the beach; Sakuragi's intuition is pretty accurate.
Training ended early on Thursday afternoon. Seeing everyone exhausted, Taoka waved his hand. "That's it for today. Relaxed training tomorrow morning, tactical drills in the afternoon. Go home and get some rest. Anyone late tomorrow will have to run laps."
Yueye was the first to rush out of the gymnasium, but after running a few steps, he turned back to get the towel he had forgotten on the chair. Zhicao followed behind, his gait a little stiff, as if he had pulled a muscle in his inner thigh.
Sendoh didn't leave; he stayed and shot two sets of three-pointers. Each set had fifty shots, and his shooting percentage dropped from 62% in the first set to 58% in the second. His arm was so sore that he couldn't even press his wrist down properly when he took the last dozen or so shots. He knew the ball was going off course as soon as it went out of bounds, either to the left or to the right.
He put the ball into the net and carried it out.
By the time I reached the school gate, the sun was already almost setting behind the teaching building.
Sendoh hesitated for three seconds, then decided to either go back to his dorm and lie down, or go sit by the sea. The seaside won.
The fishing rod was kept in the cabinet at the back of the classroom, squeezed together with the broom and mop.
I rode my bike for fifteen minutes to the beach.
There was already a person on the breakwater, with red hair, wearing a white T-shirt, pants rolled up above the knees, barefoot in the cracks between the stones, and poking something with a twig in his hand.
When Sendoh parked the car, the red-haired man turned around, revealing a familiar face.
It's Sakuragi Hanamichi.
"It's you?" Sakuragi threw down the branch, jumped off the breakwater, and stepped barefoot onto the concrete ground. He grinned, the ground was scorching hot from being in the sun all day.
"You're here too." Sendoh set up his fishing rod and took out bait from his bag.
"This genius was just passing by today and thought I'd take a look at the sea. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training at school? Isn't Ryonan going to compete in the county tournament?"
"Finished practicing. Come fishing."
Sakuragi crouched down to watch Sendoh bait his hook, his brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a fly. "You really have a lot of free time. The game is in a few days, and you're fishing here? Does your coach know?"
"I know. He sent me here to fish."
"Liar. What coach would let his players go fishing before a match? Rukawa trains until 11 p.m., and you, on the other hand, are just standing around at the beach."
Sendoh cast the fishing line, and the float landed on the water's surface, swung a few times, and then settled.
He stuck the fishing rod into the crevice of the rock, leaned back, and put his hands behind his head.
"Do you know Rukawa?"
"We're on the same team, how could we not know each other? That guy always has a long face, he never says more than three words, talking to him is like talking to a wall. I asked him what we practiced today, and he said 'dribbling.' I asked what kind of dribbling, and he said 'basic.' I asked what kind of basic, and he said 'just basic.' Can you believe it?"
Sendoh chuckled. "He's like that with everyone."
"He seems to treat you differently." Sakuragi sat on a nearby rock, his bare feet dangling in the seawater. "He's been mentioning you a lot lately."
"Why are you mentioning me?"
"It's like, how did they say it again, 'Sendoh's starting step is faster than yours,' 'Sendoh's passing timing is better than mine,' 'You should learn to watch Sendoh's off-ball movement.'" Sakuragi's voice became very low and deep, imitating Rukawa. "You know he doesn't really have any intonation when he talks, imitating him makes me look like an idiot."
"You weren't exactly smart to begin with."
"What did you say?!"
"I said you've got the fish hooked."
Sakuragi looked down and saw a palm-sized fish biting Sendoh's hook in the sea, its tail thrashing back and forth. Sendoh sat up, reeled in the line, removed the fish from the hook, and threw it back into the sea.
Sakuragi stared at the arc of the fish as it flew away for two seconds. "You caught it and then threw it away?"
"Too small."
"What if it stays very small?"
"Then just keep throwing them away."
"Then what are you doing at the beach? Feeding the fish?"
"relax."
Sakuragi remained silent for a while, looking at the sea, the wind making his red hair a mess.
"Sendoh, I have a question for you."
"ask."
How far do you think Shohoku can go this year?
Sendoh turned and glanced at Sakuragi. The guy's expression was different from usual. He didn't have that arrogant "I'm the best in the world" attitude. There was something else in his eyes.
He was serious, but not nervous; more like curious.
"How far do you think you can go?" Sendoh asked in return.
"The National Tournament. I want to compete in the National Tournament. I'm going to beat that Sawakita Eiji to a pulp."
"Then let's go."
"I'm serious, I'm not joking."
"I wasn't joking." Sendoh put away his fishing rod, retracting it section by section with a click-clack sound. "Shohoku has Akagi in the paint and Mitsui and Miyagi on the perimeter. Add you and Rukawa, and this lineup is top-tier nationwide."
Sakuragi paused for a moment, "You know our lineup so well?"
"Studying our opponents is essential."
"So, who do you think would win if Ryonan fought us?"
"We win."
"On what grounds?"
"Because I have Uozumi and Fukuda."
Sakuragi opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but couldn't find the words. The wind blew again, carrying the salty smell of the sea and a hint of fishiness. In the distance, the ship had docked, and someone was shouting something, but it was unclear.
"You're a strange person," Sakuragi said finally.
"What's strange about it?"
"Everyone told me that Shohoku was no good, that we had no experience playing in the prefectural tournament for the first time, that Akagi couldn't carry the team by himself, that Rukawa was too selfish, that Mitsui lacked stamina, and that Miyagi was too short. But you, you said our lineup was top-notch, and then you said you would win."
"Is this a contradiction?"
"It's quite contradictory."
"It's not contradictory. Your team is strong, but ours is even stronger."
Sakuragi stared at Sendoh for three seconds, then suddenly smiled. That smile was different from usual; it wasn't a loud laugh, but rather a slight upturn of the corners of his mouth and a narrowing of his eyes.
"Alright, see you at the match then."
"Okay, see you at the match."
Sakuragi stood up, dusted off his pants, put on his shoes barefoot, and walked towards the bicycle. After taking two steps, he turned back.
"The Path of Immortality".
"Um."
"How much did you pay for that fishing rod?"
"I forgot. It was very cheap."
"Buy one for me next time."
"You want to go fishing too?"
"Relax. You said relax."
Sendoh smiled and said, "Okay."
Sakuragi got on his bicycle and rode away.
My phone vibrated. It was a message from Yueye: Have you had dinner? The cafeteria has fried pork chops today, I got you some and put it on your table.
Xian Dao replied: Thank you.
Off-road: Are you still at the beach?
Sendoh: Hmm, I'm getting ready to go back.
Cross-country: Relaxed training tomorrow morning, don't be late. Last time you were late, Taoka made you run twenty laps. If you're late again today, he might make you run forty laps.
Immortal Way: I will not be late.
Off-road: You said it.
Xiandao: I said it.
He put his phone back in his pocket, stood up, and patted his pants. The stones of the breakwater had been in the sun all day and were still warm; he could feel the heat even through his pants.
I took a couple of steps, and my phone vibrated again. This time it wasn't from a SUV; it was an unfamiliar number.
The message consisted of only one line: "I'm Yayoi Aida, a reporter for *Basketball Weekly*. Can we schedule an interview for next Monday? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the prefectural tournament."
Sendoh stared at the screen for a few seconds. In the original story, Aida Yayoi is a reporter from Hainan, specializing in reporting on Kanagawa basketball; she has a sharp eye and incisive writing style.
The fact that she came to interview him shows that the outside world has begun to notice him, not just as "a genius player from Ryonan," but as "a key figure in the prefectural tournament."
He typed halfway through, then deleted it and retyped: Okay. You decide the time and place.
A reply came in less than ten seconds after I sent it: Monday morning at 10 AM, at the coffee shop near the entrance of Lingnan School. Thank you.
Sendoh didn't go back. He put his phone in his pocket and rode his bike back. The wind was blowing from the front, making it a bit difficult to pedal. His legs were very sore; all the exercises he did that morning were still stored in his muscles, and the lactic acid was still there.
He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, mentally reviewing the day's training: help defense, shuttle runs, three-point shooting, strength training. The numbers on the system panel were still ticking; his PP balance was twenty. Not much, but enough.
With less than a week to go before the county competition, the stats are: Speed A, Strength B, Flexibility B+, Jumping B+, Endurance B+, Reaction B+. The Speed A indicator on the panel glows faintly in the darkness.
Sendoh closed his eyes. The first match of the county tournament against Wuli was a sure win; his goal was to get a feel for the game. The second match would be the real test: Hainan against Maki Shinichi.