In the following days, Shōgo entered his rhythm.
Today, he had a beautiful coach to accompany him in sword practice, and tomorrow, he would go to the mixed martial arts gym and endure a beating from others. He successfully settled into the new school.
There were no dramatic plot twists, but when Shōgo went to report to school, his handsome appearance caused some soft-spoken girls to scream.
This made Shōgo feel both pleased and troubled because he didn't want to draw attention to himself.
Now, Shōgo only wanted to continuously improve his physical fitness, basketball skills, and overall strength.
Then, when the right moment came, he would wipe away the shame and tell that person, "I'm sorry, but you've underestimated me."
"Splash!"
Shōgo dived into the water, joyfully swimming in the pool.
After a whole day of training, he felt liberated from exhaustion, and his mood was extremely relaxed.
However, it was all an illusion. When Shōgo finished the two-hour pre-sleep swimming and strength training, he felt completely drained with no energy left.
Hastily taking a shower, he lay down on the big bed and fell into a deep slumber.
His caring mother gently opened the door, covered him with a blanket, drew the curtains, turned off the lights, and then left the room with peace of mind.
Shōgo was oblivious to all this; he was deep in sleep.
Peaceful moments were best left undisturbed.
Early in the morning, looking at himself in the mirror with his blood-red new school uniform, Shōgo felt quite satisfied.
Whether from the front or the side, it was good. It was much better than Teiko's white, funeral-like uniform.
With his basketball and schoolbag on his back, Shōgo stepped out of the room, picked up a sandwich and a banana from the dining table, and said sleepily:
"Good morning, Mother, I'm leaving!"
"Good morning, Shōgo-kun. Come back early in the evening."
"Okay! I got it!"
Facing a gentle mother, Shōgo showed the highest respect and affection.
Then, Shōgo casually and yawningly made his way to Fukuda Junior High School.
At this moment, Shōgo was in his second year of junior high school, in the same grade as Daiki and Tetsuya, which was why Tetsuya referred to him as "Haizaki-kun" instead of "Haizaki-senpai."
On the way, he looked at the data panel in front of him, and his average stamina had finally risen to "Superior," which made Shōgo very happy.
At least, his weak points were no longer prominent, and he didn't have any obvious shortcomings.
As for his mental resilience, it was weak for a transmigrator. It was something like child's play, a trick used to frighten junior high school students.
Looking at the panel, Shōgo was still somewhat puzzled. The data on the panel was as follows:
Strength: Superior
Agility: Superior
Stamina: Superior
After this period of training, his stamina improved. Strength and agility remained unchanged, but Shōgo could feel that his strength and agility were continuously increasing.
This led to his current confusion. There were only two possibilities: either the peak of the data panel could only record "Superior" and couldn't record anything beyond that, or the increase in his strength and agility had not reached the level of another new higher grade, so they showed no change.
Shōgo was more inclined to the second possibility because it was evident that his current speed and strength were no match for Aomine Daiki and Murasakibara Atsushi.
According to Shōgo's speculation, Aomine's sudden leap might be due to his agility breaking through to a level higher than the "Superior" level.
Lost in various thoughts in his mind, Shōgo stepped into the school gate.
Amidst the high-pitched chatter and admiring voices of the girls, Shōgo entered the classroom, attracting the attention of all his classmates.
There was no way around it. At present, Shōgo's silver-gray long hair was undeniably charming, not losing to Kise Ryouta's.
The girl in front of Shōgo turned back and smiled, greeting him:
"Good morning, Shōgo-kun!"
"Good morning, Rina-chan!"
Sitting in front of Shōgo was the renowned beauty of Fukuda Junior High School.
The reason why Rina became Shōgo's front desk mate was that he noticed her rose-red long hair, which was quite similar to Momoi's.
Feeling familiar with this, Shōgo naturally went to sit behind Rina Shimizu.
Shōgo was well aware that he still liked Satsuki, but it was evident that she probably will never like him back.
Satsuki herself probably didn't even know how deep her affection for Daiki was, or how much she relied on and cared for him.
Whenever Shōgo thought about this, he shook his head. It seemed that it would be too difficult to win Satsuki as his girlfriend.
That was why he took her first kiss at the school gate that day. It wasn't for any particular reason, just to express his feelings for her, and to put an end to it.
"Shōgo-kun, do you have any clubs you like?"
"Yes, but I've been busy lately. I'll join a club when I'm not so busy, Rina-chan."
Rina was quite satisfied with Shōgo's familiar way of addressing her. Shōgo's handsome appearance and his slightly rogue and delinquent demeanor made Rina like him even more.
Shōgo also understood that the pretty girls in front of him had good feelings for him, but he hadn't thought about anything romantic at the moment. Such things should happen naturally; he couldn't be bothered with them.
"Shōgo-kun, which club do you plan to join?"
"Well, the basketball club! But the current basketball club doesn't look impressive."
"Shōgo-kun, our school is still quite strong. Our basketball club should be able to rank in the top ten in terms of strength."
"Rina-chan, the top ten is too weak. I'll show you what real strength looks like someday."
"Shōgo-kun, you're not talking about yourself, are you?"
"Haha! Maybe! Alright, Rina-chan, could you lend me your notes from a few days ago?"
Soon, a rose-red notebook was handed over from the front, with a faint jasmine fragrance. The style was clear and refreshing, not the type Shōgo disliked in girls.
"Thanks!"
"You're welcome, Shōgo-kun!"
His life had suddenly become ordinary; training stamina, practicing basketball skills, chasing girls, studying, and writing.
This was essentially a portrayal of youth, don't you think?