"Alright, that's it for this year's training. For those who passed today's selection, if you want to officially join the club, bring your formal application form tomorrow afternoon."
"Alright then, everyone is dismissed."
The rookie selection took quite a bit of time, so by the time it ended, Seiho High's training session was essentially over.
Matsumoto Yukinori simply announced the dismissal of the players.
However, at this time, the ones leaving were basically the regular members. The starters of Seiho staying for extra practice was, of course, inevitable.
"Yoshi! Since training's over, next up… let's have a little chat with our two cocky rookies!"
Kasuga Ryuhei stretched his back with a crack.
The next second,
All the starters of Seiho High had the predatory gleam of hunters in their eyes.
Not far away, Tsugawa Tomoki was happily packing up his bag when he suddenly felt a chill down his back. Turning around, he saw a group of starters, eyes glowing red, silently surrounding him.
"Um… senpai, do you need something?"
Kasuga Ryuhei threw an arm over Tsugawa's shoulder, his strong grip nearly choking the rookie, and sneered. "Yo! Rookie, you were pretty cocky out there on the court, huh? Seems like you didn't think much of us senpai at all."
"Hehehe… it's a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding! It was all just normal tactics."
Better to bend than break. Even a blunt Tsugawa knew when to offer a harmless lie in the face of overwhelming force.
But after being taunted for so long on the court, Seiho's starters clearly weren't about to let him go so easily.
"Oh~~ just tactics, huh? In that case, it's a school tradition for senpai and rookies to… bond after games."
"Hehehe…"
Hearing the malicious chuckles all around, Tsugawa realized there was no escaping his fate today.
Still, before going down, he decided to drag someone with him.
"Wait, senpai! I wasn't the only one taunting you on the court. Don't forget about Akashi!"
"Hehehe… Don't worry, neither of you are getting away."
Kasuga sneered and turned his head, only for his expression to freeze.
Because in the gym… Akashi Asuka was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh? When did he slip out?"
"Damn it! I knew that bastard would ditch me! No loyalty at all!"
Tsugawa roared in frustration.
The gym soon echoed with a chorus of agonized wails…
============
Who knew how much later,
Tsutomu Iwamura passed by while packing his things. The half-dead Tsugawa's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Iwamura-senpai! Iwamura-senpai! Help me!"
Iwamura paused, frowned slightly, and said, "Hey, you guys, don't get blood on the floor. Cleaning it up is a pain."
With that, Iwamura's lips curved slightly as he walked away.
As captain, he couldn't get involved in things like this, because regular members and rookies roughhousing was considered bonding.
But if the captain joined in, it could easily be called bullying.
Seiho's basketball team wasn't one of those clubs where the senior-junior hierarchy was rigidly enforced.
Still, not participating didn't mean Iwamura wasn't angry. Anyone would be, after being provoked like that on the court.
Too bad… the other rookie who deserved a beating had slipped away far too fast.
============
"Huh? Who's making that dying-wail sound?"
Outside the gym, Akashi Asuka looked up. For some reason, a moment ago, he'd heard a loud, pitiful howl in his ears.
It sounded way too real to be a hallucination.
Eh, whatever. Not my problem.
He shook his head and glanced up at the sky. "It's still early. Might as well go for a swim."
Swimming was a new addition to Akashi's personal training routine.
Many didn't realize that swimming was one of the few exercises that trained the entire body, making it a top choice for people looking to lose weight or tone up.
For Akashi, though, he mainly wanted to develop two attributes:
Muscle flexibility.
And endurance.
There was also a new special skill he was working on that trained far more effectively in water.
That was why Akashi had gotten a membership at a sports training center near his home.
============
By evening,
The pool wasn't crowded yet; most of the few swimmers were students.
Since most working adults couldn't come until 8 or 9 p.m., the facility stayed open until 10 or 11 at night. That was one of the main reasons Akashi chose this place.
The first part of his routine was simple: swim at full speed. Swimming strengthened the whole body and had a low risk of injury, so Akashi hadn't set a strict goal; he'd just keep going until he ran out of stamina.
Once his energy was gone,
He moved to a corner of the pool and spread his arms, making slow, unusual movements underwater.
Anyone from mainland would have recognized them instantly: the movements of Tai Chi.
This was a habit Akashi had picked up in his previous life, back then, he'd discovered that practicing Tai Chi after training relaxed both body and mind.
But here, his goal wasn't relaxation.
After a period of practicing Tai Chi in this life, Akashi had unexpectedly gained a new skill…
==========
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