[TL Note: The captain of Fukuda Junior High, Fukuda Sasaki will from now on be referred as Arata Sasaki.]
...
Fukuda Junior High School, Basketball Locker Room
While tidying up his backpack, Shōgo hummed a strange tune and glanced at Arata.
The current captain, Arata, looked at Shōgo with hopeful eyes.
That gaze almost made Shōgo startle, and the strange look made him very uneasy.
My goodness! Could Arata be asking him to pick up soap?
Without even imagining it, that image was already unbearable. Just thinking about it, Shōgo felt a chill in the air around him, which was somewhat uncomfortable.
After a while, feeling that Arata's gaze was off, Shōgo spoke with a somewhat cold tone.
"Something wrong?"
"Um... Shōgo-kun, can you give me some guidance?"
Shōgo's sudden question caused Arata's body to stiffen, and he trembled slightly, clearly taken aback.
Fortunately, Arata recovered quickly, realizing that his longing gaze must have been too obvious.
"Guidance? Guidance on what?"
"Guide me on how to improve my defense. I want to become better at stopping strong opponents for Shōgo-kun."
Hearing this, Shōgo carefully observed Arata in front of him.
He was over six feet tall, with short hair and a determined look. He seemed energetic and full of spirit, reportedly a player who had been reborn from ashes, according to Coach Kudo.
But he seemed rather awkward, even more straightforward than Shōgo himself, with a somewhat simple appearance.
"Seriously?"
"Please, Shōgo-kun! I'm counting on you!"
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The basketball was slapped back and forth in Shōgo's hands. Arata, in front of him, slightly squatted, hands spread out, swaying slightly, attempting to prevent potential breakthroughs from various directions.
The defensive posture was decent, quite professional. Shōgo made a fake move, easily bypassing Arata, and the basketball smoothly went into the net.
"Your defense is already quite good, but your reaction time is too slow."
"Thank you! Shōgo-kun, your affirmation means a lot to me."
Shōgo didn't say anything, he continued to play with the basketball. Once again, he made a move and scored with a dunk.
"I've noticed that your gaze has been following the basketball in my hands. This unconscious behavior is detrimental to our current team tactics."
"Shōgo-kun, I'm not quite understanding the issue you're talking about. Could you please explain it more clearly?"
Upon hearing Arata's request, Shōgo silently complained in his heart: Seriously, wasn't what I said clear enough? Well, if it wasn't clear, I'll say it again.
"If our team followed conventional tactics, tracking the basketball with your gaze and making judgments before defending would be feasible."
"However, now, our team's focus is on all-around defensive players, not defending the basketball itself. So, your gaze shouldn't be on the basketball, but rather on the players."
Arata in front of him first appeared confused, but as Shōgo continued to score a few more baskets, his eyes lit up.
"Shōgo-kun, I think I understand what you mean."
"Good, as long as you understand. Keep practicing like this, guarding one person is equivalent to sealing off one player."
"I understand, thank you so much, Shōgo-kun!"
"That's enough for today. Let's call it a day."
Shōgo waved his hand, and he and Arata returned to the locker room, changed clothes, and walked out of the school gate.
Back home, it was already late.
With his mother's company, Shōgo finished all the food on the table, then, under his mother's satisfied gaze, took his basketball and went out for a walk.
Carrying the basketball, he arrived at a nearby basketball court. It was sparsely populated, with a few people jogging and playing basketball.
Thinking about Arata, Shōgo had an idea.
If Arata could truly change his defensive habits, Shōgo wondered if having Arata guard Tetsuya might have an interesting effect.
For teammates who only marked their assigned player and not the ball itself, focusing solely on guarding a single person and changing their defensive habits might just work.
Would Tetsuya be sealed off if a player stuck to him like glue, not caring about anything else?
Thinking about this, a smile crept onto Shōgo's lips.
Hehe, the future does hold some anticipation.
Back home, after two hours of swimming that drained his last bit of energy, Shōgo filled with expectations, entered dreamland.
A new day seemed even brighter and more vibrant, filled with youthful energy.
Arriving at the classroom, amid Rina's chattering, Shōgo learned that the previous day's recruitment event had caused quite a commotion.
With Rina joining, the basketball club recruited more than twenty new members, infusing the team with fresh vitality.
Amid Rina's description of the events, Shōgo playfully tapped her head and teased her.
"Our super-universe-invincible beauty, Rina-chan, you've worked hard!"
"Sh-Shōgo-kun..."
Rina rolled her eyes at Shōgo, then turned back to arrange her books, getting ready for class.
After a while, a rose-colored notebook was handed over from the front, and Shōgo reached out to take it.
He pulled out an energy bar from his pocket and handed it to the small, extended hand.
Rina, who was about to retrieve her hand, was momentarily puzzled. She hesitated for a moment, feeling what was in her hand, and then her face lit up with joy as she withdrew her hand.
Shōgo opened the notebook, the clear notes and elegant handwriting, and the four characters "Da Jia Zhi Feng" (meaning "The Wind of All Families") leaped into his mind.
Could all the girls in this world be this adorable?
In the afternoon, the bell rang, marking the end of the sixth period.
Shōgo was called into Coach Kudo's office and discussed the events of the previous day.
"About Arata-kun's matter yesterday, thank you for your help, Shōgo-kun!"
"Yesterday? You're still here at this time?"
Yes, from your perspective, for our current tactics, I agree. I overlooked this point, and I appreciate you pointing it out in time."
Shōgo didn't know what to say, so he shook his head, indicating that he was just expressing his opinion.
"We'll work hard on defense, and we'll leave the offense to you, Shōgo-kun. We can win games by relying on offense."
"Coach, we can win games with offense, but we can win championships with defense."
Coach Kudo nodded, showing agreement.
Watching Shōgo walk out, Coach Kudo's eyes were full of hope.
Looking at the blue sky outside the window, Coach Kudo smiled faintly. With you, Shōgo, even if our team is weak and our tactics are unconventional, as long as there's hope, and a chance to win, why bother about the rest?