Thump, thump, thump...
"Nice shot!"
A loud voice suddenly rang out, clearly amplified through a microphone.
Shogo Haizaki looked over in confusion.
"Are they holding some kind of competition?"
"Looks like it," Tatsuya Himuro replied.
The host's voice rang out again.
"Does anyone else want to come up and challenge him?"
"Step up and challenge Liu Yu, one of Jingchuan High School's starters!"
The spectators looked around at one another, but for quite a while, no one stepped onto the court.
Shogo Haizaki and the others also looked toward the young man standing on the court.
That was Liu Yu.
A confident smile rested on Liu Yu's face, while beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He had clearly already played several one-on-one matches.
Just when the host thought no one else was going to step forward, a black-haired boy with bangs covering half of one eye suddenly walked onto the court.
The host immediately seized the opportunity and shouted,
"Alright! We have a challenger!"
"Now let's see whether our reigning champion successfully defends the court, or whether the challenger takes his place!"
It turned out to be a king-of-the-court competition at an outdoor basketball court.
The reigning player had to accept challenges from anyone who stepped up. If he successfully defended the court ten times in a row, or if no one else was willing to challenge him, he would receive a prize of one thousand yuan.
And the current reigning player was Liu Yu, a starter from Jingchuan High School.
As for the black-haired challenger...
It was Tatsuya Himuro.
Tatsuya Himuro turned around with a completely bewildered expression and looked toward Shogo Haizaki and the others.
Shogo Haizaki had his head turned away, casually whistling as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Reo Mibuchi covered his forehead and gave an embarrassed smile.
Atsushi Murasakibara...
couldn't care less. He was still eating his grilled sausage.
Left with no choice, Tatsuya Himuro gave a helpless smile.
"You guys are unbelievable. Fine, I'll play."
Back at Kirisaki Daiichi, everyone had picked up bits and pieces of different languages over time.
Chinese was one of them, so Shogo Haizaki and the others knew enough basic phrases to get by, though their pronunciation still carried a strong Japanese accent.
Tatsuya Himuro was different.
He was a genuine language prodigy.
He could speak six foreign languages!
And Chinese was one of them.
Calling him a monster when it came to languages wouldn't have been much of an exaggeration.
Once Tatsuya Himuro stepped onto the court, the host walked over to him.
"Why don't you introduce yourself?"
He held out the microphone.
Tatsuya Himuro showed no sign of nervousness. He took it and spoke in fluent Chinese.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Tatsuya Himuro, and I currently attend Kirisaki Daiichi."
He handed the microphone back to the host.
The host accepted it and asked in surprise,
"You're from Japan?"
Tatsuya Himuro nodded.
The host immediately became more interested.
"Is Kirisaki Daiichi, the school you attend, one of the teams that qualified?"
Tatsuya Himuro nodded again.
The host nodded in understanding.
"In that case, let me explain the rules. If you successfully defend the court, or if no one else challenges you, you'll receive a prize of one thousand yuan. Possession alternates, and the offensive player starts with the ball. Any problems?"
Tatsuya Himuro shook his head.
"No problem."
"Then let's begin," the host said.
Tatsuya Himuro stepped onto the court and took his position beyond the three-point line.
The host raised his voice again.
"Alright, everyone! Our challenger is ready! He's a player from Kirisaki Daiichi, one of the teams from Japan that qualified for the National Tournament!"
"Let's see what he can do!"
The crowd immediately erupted into cheers.
Tatsuya Himuro smiled helplessly as he received the ball from the host.
Liu Yu clapped his hands and encouraged him.
"Don't be nervous. Just play your game."
Tatsuya Himuro paused.
Was he trying to help him relax?
"Heh... thanks for the advice." Tatsuya Himuro smiled gently. "I'm going to attack now."
Liu Yu nodded, his expression turning serious.
The young man standing in front of him had such a delicate face that his smile almost looked feminine, yet Liu Yu felt an enormous sense of incongruity from him.
The contrast was striking.
Something about this refined-looking young man told him he was anything but simple.
There was even something faintly dangerous behind that gentle smile.
"Ready?" Tatsuya Himuro asked again.
Liu Yu nodded.
The next instant, Tatsuya Himuro moved.
He suddenly put the ball on the floor and exploded forward with astonishing speed.
In a single instant, he was already past Liu Yu.
Liu Yu's heart jumped.
'So fast!'
By the time he turned around, Tatsuya Himuro had already finished the layup.
Liu Yu was even more shocked.
'That speed is on par with our captain!'
Even the host hadn't expected the challenger to be so fast and froze for a moment.
But he quickly recovered and began hyping up the crowd again.
Possession changed.
Liu Yu held the ball in both hands and watched Tatsuya Himuro cautiously.
Tatsuya Himuro spread his arms and smiled at him.
It was such a relaxed stance, yet Liu Yu felt tremendous pressure.
'What an intense presence! He must be one of Kirisaki Daiichi's starters!'
Liu Yu frowned and mentally marked Kirisaki Daiichi as a dangerous opponent.
Judging solely from the speed and presence Tatsuya Himuro had displayed so far, there was no way Kirisaki Daiichi could be weak.
'I need to warn the captain to watch out for Kirisaki Daiichi!'
"You're distracted," Tatsuya Himuro suddenly said in a gentle voice.
The next instant...
Smack!!!
The crisp sound of the ball being slapped away rang out.
The basketball vanished from Liu Yu's hands.
"Holy shit!"
Liu Yu couldn't stop himself from swearing before slapping his thigh in frustration.
"Remember to stay focused during a game," Tatsuya Himuro said gently. "Otherwise, it's easy to make mistakes."
Liu Yu immediately nodded, accepting the advice sincerely.
"Thanks for the pointer."
He then reset into a defensive stance.
"Let's keep going!"
Tatsuya Himuro smiled and continued the match.
The outcome was hardly surprising.
Tatsuya Himuro won five to zero.
After the match, Liu Yu wiped the sweat from his face and extended a hand toward him.
"Thanks for the lesson. You're really strong."
Liu Yu meant every word.
Tatsuya Himuro extended his hand as well and shook it.
"You're strong too."
Liu Yu smiled.
"If our schools end up facing each other later, I won't hold back."
"One-on-one isn't actually my strong suit. I'm at my best in a proper full-court game."
"Really?" Tatsuya Himuro smiled. "Then I'm looking forward to playing against you."
Liu Yu grinned.
"When the time comes, let's settle it at shooting guard!"
Tatsuya Himuro shook his head.
"I'm afraid we won't get to settle it one-on-one."
...
...
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