"Dribbling drills can help relax your muscles to some extent."
Araki tossed a basketball to Kota with one hand—it was clear she'd prepared it in advance.
"This gym is owned by my family. Sometimes, players from Yosen come here to train too. Having a court inside just makes things more convenient."
Her explanation cleared up Kota's confusion.
"A rich girl, huh? Well, that explains it."
"Dribble back-and-forth. Five reps."
Straight to the point, as always. With the blow of a whistle, Kota dove into his next task.
But after the weighted squats and bench presses, his muscles were so stiff that he couldn't get a good feel for the ball at all. Gritting his teeth, Kota forced himself to regain control and managed to finish the "cool down" drills without losing the ball.
Araki finally stopped shaking her head. Being able to dribble back-and-forth with such stiff muscles—this kid's fundamentals really were solid.
"That's it for today. Come here, I'll help you stretch. After lunch, you're free to go. Just remember to come back for dinner. You need to completely overhaul your diet. There are four months left until the Winter Cup. You need to bulk up to 75 or 80 kilograms."
"What? That fast?"
Kota glanced at the clock. From the moment he walked in, barely two hours had passed. Sure, the training had been intense, but for a professional athlete, this felt… short.
Araki, noticing the doubt on his face, offered a calm explanation.
"Today was mostly just to test you and get you familiar with the environment. Real training starts tomorrow. Strength training shouldn't last too long, and after it, you wouldn't have the energy to work on basketball fundamentals anyway."
Kota nodded, still somewhat in the dark — his knowledge was limited to that of a basketball enthusiast in his previous life. All of this professional-level training was new territory.
"Lie down" Araki said, pointing to a yoga mat.
"It might hurt. You can scream if you need to."
"Hurt? Scream?"
Kota scoffed.
"What a joke. It's just a massage, right? Even if she sits on top of me, I won't flinch."
"Uh, Miss Masako, what's that thing in your hand?"
"A fascia blade."
"Oh, I see… The shape's kinda cool."
"It's more than just a cool shape."
...
"AHH! What the hell is this thing?!"
"Don't move."
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"
"Let it out. It'll help."
"Fuck you!!!"
...
"Miss Masako, I suspect you're taking revenge for something… but I have no proof."
Kota lay limp on the mat, drained of all strength. His voice was a whisper.
Araki wiped sweat from her forehead. Kota had done his best to cooperate, but his body's instinctive reactions still made controlling him tough work.
She didn't reply — either ignoring the accusation or silently confirming it.
"Do you smoke?"
"No"
"Good. Quit if you do."
She then brought out a tray from somewhere and placed it on the table.
"Here's your lunch. When you're done, just leave it there."
Kota walked over and glanced at the tray.
Broccoli, chicken breast, fish, plain rice. Not much variety, but a large portion. Judging by the amount, finishing it would definitely require a rest afterward.
As she turned to leave, Araki added, "You have to finish all of it. You're underweight."
"All of it… huh."
He'd mentally prepared for this, but hearing it out loud still made him nervous. In his previous life, Kota had been frugal — never demanding much from food, and rarely eating to full capacity.
In other words: he didn't mind eating simple meals, but hated overeating.
As he slowly tackled the meal, his thoughts drifted.
"A professional basketball career, huh… If every day is like this, maybe I can handle it. Except that cursed fascia blade…"
Then, a sudden sound echoed in his mind, snapping him out of it:
Beep—
[New main mission detected: Join the U-18 National Team]
"Huh? So that thing wasn't dead after all… it was just waiting for this moment."
Kota laughed softly to himself and looked at his meal again. He'd only eaten a third of it and already felt full.
"Alright then. First step toward being a pro: finish this lunch!"
...
Elsewhere, in Kaijo's basketball gym
"What? kota's gone for special training?"
Takeuchi had pulled Kise into his office to tell him, and also handed him an official invitation from the Basketball Association — an offer to join the U-18 national team.
"Oh, so Kota's aiming for the national team too? In that case, no problem. I'll join."
Hearing Kise's quick agreement, Takeuchi hesitated before continuing.
"If you're only joining to play alongside Kota, you might want to think again. He wasn't selected. That's why he's training now — you two might not end up on the same team."
Kise just shrugged.
"If Kota wasn't selected, that's their mistake. But if he's serious about joining, he'll make it."
Takeuchi smiled at that confidence. The trust between those two was impressive.
Kota believed Kise would make the team with ease.Kise believed Kota not making it was just the scouts being blind.
It wasn't just Kise. Akashi from Rakuzan and Murasakibara from Yosen had also received invites — they were all part of the top four teams in the tournament, the only ones the scouts had really paid attention to.
...
"Join the national team? Nah. Sounds boring. I'm not even that into basketball."
—A certain unnamed big guy.
"National team? Excuse me, I didn't hear you clearly. Did you mean you want me to join the team, or buy it?"
—A certain wealthy heir to an unnamed conglomerate.
Recruiting for the national team wasn't going as smoothly as planned.
....
The next morning, at Shark Gym
"Morning, Miss Masako."
"Morning."
Kota returned for training, walking straight in this time without needing to be led. He found Araki quickly and asked enthusiastically:
"What's on the schedule today? Same as yesterday?"
Now that the system had activated a new mission, his motivation was through the roof.
"No. We'll start with basketball today, then do strength training in the afternoon."
Araki unzipped her jacket and pulled it off, grabbing a basketball. But instead of tossing it over, she dribbled twice and looked at Kota.
"Wanna play a quick one-on-one?"
"Huh? You mean, we're going to duel?"
Kota looked shocked. The difference in physical ability between men and women made one-on-ones especially intense.
Araki raised an eyebrow. She felt underestimated.
"I used to play for the women's national team."
Kota already knew that, of course — but he faked surprise anyway.
"Ohh, that changes everything. Then I won't hold back."
He caught the ball she passed him, and as soon as he held it, his mouth ran on instinct.
"Just saying, Miss Masako—if you end up crying after this, I won't be the one to comfort you."