Jet Black Meets Pure White

※・Arc 4: What Happens When Pure White And Jet Black Mix!・※

After entering the facility, Seiji immediately felt nostalgic. This is where he really started earnestly practicing to learn basketball almost everyday. He's had one on ones with Hyuuga, who was also training here at the time, until he left after getting recruited by Kyōsen.

Seiji would often come here to visit Riko from time to time but that changed since this year started. It's just a few months but he felt the nostalgia once he entered.

While Seiji is spacing out, Kagetora suddenly addressed him.

"Yo, Seiji boy! Learned anything new from this old man over here?"

Kagetora pointed at Chu Lin who is currently right beside him.

"What do you mean by 'old man'!? I clearly look young!"

"Haaa!? Looks can be deceiving, Lin. That's why I don't judge people by their looks."

"The philosophy behind it sounds great but it is just so that you can call a gentleman like me as 'old man' isn't it?"

Kagetora just stroked his chin at Chu Lin's question, seemingly saying, "Who knows?"

"Anyway, this youngster honestly didn't need to learn anything from me but he did learn how to utilize his instincts more," Chu Lin said while fixing his necktie.

"Yes. I learned many things just by joining Kyōsen's basketball club," Seiji said, with various meanings hidden behind it.

Kagetora seems to have picked up on what Seiji meant by that as he grinned at Seiji.

"Yeah. I'm sure you really 'learned' various things from different people there. You're scarily fast when it comes to 'learning', after all."

While the three of them conversed, all the while leading the group to their destination, the players behind them are having their own conversation.

"So Seiji also know your father from way back, Aida-san?"

"That's right Riko-senpai! I never heard of this from you…"

The ones who said this are Izuki and Neko who are walking just behind Kagetora, Chu Lin, and Seiji.

"Well, I guess? You could say that he's one of my childhood friends."

"Hmm… I thought Seiji lives in Nara? He came all the way here during his childhood?"

It was Akagi who asked a question this time. There's no deep meaning behind his question, he's just curious.

"Oh, that's because he wanted to start training at an early age. When he came here, he's already in quite a good shape, actually. Father told me that he practiced things like gymnastics, yoga, cardio, and he even have a totally balanced physique when he got here."

"What do you mean by 'balanced'?" Wakamatsu asked.

"By 'balanced', I meant that he is already totally ambidextrous and his jumping ability is similar in height in both of his feet."

Riko then sipped some of the fruit juice that she have on hand after answering Wakamatsu's inquiry.

"So you mean to say that whatever his right part of the body could do, his left could, too?" Kogure said while adjusting his glasses.

"That's right. He trained it all by himself."

This time, Kogure was answered by his glasses wearing buddy, Hyuuga.

"That's amazing. I was only a snotty little brat doing what brats should do when I was a kid while Seiji is doing some training. Respect."

"Yep. Wakamatsu's right. I was also doing the same."

After Wakamatsu and Izuki said that, everyone also voiced out their own agreement.

"Alright! You brats should get ready for some training that will make you puke out your guts in the process!"

With Kagetora's ominous sounding words ringing through their ears, everyone got ready to be subjected through some grueling training.

※・※・※・※

During the third day of the training, Seiji met his family once again. Along with the previous head butler, Arisugawa Rentarou, Arisugawa Hanna, and Arisugawa Rena, arrived inside the facility and saw Seiji and his team doing their basic training menu on the pool.

Kagetora and Chu Lin said something about doing this training for something but that is already out of everyone's mind after they were subjected in such trainings for three days now. Their bodies are screaming for help but they all ignored it and persevered through their training.

After doing such a training, they all will go into the the sauna to heat their bodies up before dipping their body into drums filled with cold water and ice. Except their head and necks, their whole bodies are submerged inside the drum of cold water.

"You sure have a very hard training in here Seiji. Are you sure you aren't having a hard time here?"

Hanna, with her eyes on the verge of tearing up, touched Seiji here and there before cupping Seiji's face with both of her hands.

"I'm okay mom. It's not that hard, anyway."

Rentarou seems to have agreed on what Seiji have said as he nodded his head repeatedly.

"Let the young man do what he wants. Aren't you happy that he's doing something else other than burying his face on books all day long when he was in our previous house?"

Rentarou somehow managed to convince the extremely worried Hanna before they all went out to eat at a Japanese restaurant that Rentarou knows. The chef here is an alumni of a pretty famous school for chefs so Rentarou likes the food's quality here.

After placing their orders, the four of them chatted about everything that comes to mind, completely going into family time mode while waiting for orders.

"Oh, right. I've heard that your team will be going to the Nationals this year, Seiji."

"Yes dad. We had a match against two great teams but we still managed to win."

Seeing the smile on their son's face, Hanna and Rentarou thought that it was the right decision to make him move out of that house earlier. Some of the questions that they asked to Seiji is something that they already know but they still asked them because they want to hear the whole story. from their son.

Even when the food arrived, the family of four still continued their conversation.

"By the way, did your teacher, Chihiro, approach you already?"

"Yes dad. She told me that she wanted me to take care of her cousin who will be arriving in four days."

"We're sorry Seiji-chan. We didn't ask for your opinion before making such a decision. The girl is quite famous in the art world, you see. Thus, when she approached us for a favor, we couldn't exactly refuse her…"

Rentarou laughed in a boisterous manner when he heard his wife's embarrassed tone.

"Why don't you just tell your son that you accepted because you're a major fan of that girl and you really liked the painting she sent you, that's why you agreed."

Hearing the real reason as to why he got into such a situation, Seiji could only smile wryly. His mom likes her paintings very much, to the point that she would get hysterical when there's so much as a scratch on them. She treats them like her own children.

After that meal, Rentarou, Hanna, and Rena said goodbye after Rentarou and Hanna told Seiji that they will visit in Nara after his training. Rena also said that she will just arrange her things before moving to the mansion in Nara to live with Seiji.

※・※・※・※

Four days passed by in a flash and the whole team of Kyōsen is ready for the upcoming Nationals. Their in their best shape as everyone learned a thing or two during their time in the Aida Sports Facility.

After expressing their gratitude to Kagetora, everyone except Seiji entered inside the bus. Seiji will be going to the airport to pick up his teacher's cousin so he will be riding on his family's car, driven by the previous head butler's trusted aide.

After arriving at the lobby, Seiji waited for the girl on the picture to arrived at the specified area on which you could pick up the passengers who alighted the planes. However, even after three more hours passed, no one who's remotely similar to the girl in the picture arrived.

Since he's quite hungry, Seiji went out for a bit to loo for a vending machine. He wants to buy some refreshments because his throat is quite parched.

When he finally found a vending machine, drank the contents of the can of orange juice, and started to walk back to his previous spot, he saw someone sitting on a bench under the shade of a few trees.

The girl is extremely beautiful, on par with his sister, Rena. Rena got her looks from Hanna who is quite a well known figure in the fashion industry because of her exceptional beauty.

Seiji comparing this girl to Rena in terms of looks speaks volume as to just how stunning she is.

However, that's not what caught Seiji's attention. It was her pale blonde hair that's swaying along with the gentle breeze and her crimson red colored irises which glows in a mysterious light that caught his attention.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

Seiji walked straight to where the girl is sitting, ignoring everything else.

"Can I sit here?"

"Mhm…"

"Thank you."

Silence then ensued as nobody talked for a few seconds after Seiji sat down near the girl. However, just when Seiji wanted to say something, the girl suddenly asked him a question.

"Hey, what color do you want to be?"

Seiji was surprised, but he answered the question nonetheless.

"…What color? I think I want to be black."

"Why?"

"Uhh… Why? Well, it's because, if you mix up all the colors, you'll get black, right?"

"…You're greedy aren't you?"

"Where did that come from, exactly?"

"Nothing…"

Silence once again ensued as Seiji looked at the girl with his eyelids half-closed.

"You're quite the weird one, aren't you?"

"Says someone who wants to be color black."

"How does that relate to being weird?"

"I don't… know?"

The girl tilted her head to the side, making some strands of her pale blonde hair slide on her cheeks.

Seiji just gave up on continuing that conversation and decided to divert the topic.

"*sigh*… Anyway, you're my teacher's, Sengoku Chihiro's, cousin, aren't you?"

"Nn… I'm Mashiro(Pure White)…"

"Your name suits you extremely well. Pure white, huh. Anyway, Shiina Mashiro-san, right? My name's Arisugawa Seiji. Nice to finally meet you."

"Nn… Nice to meet you, Seiji."

"Onto the first name basis already?"

"You can call me… Mashiro in exchange?"

Seiji scratched his cheeks at her suggestion, knowing full well that that wasn't what he meant by saying that. However, Seiji didn't really mind it as he was once born in a place where you usually call other people by their names.

"Ugh… Whatever floats your boat I guess?"

Seiji then stood up from his seat and offered a hand to Mashiro before saying, "Once again, it's nice meeting you Mashiro."

"Nn… Take care of me, Seiji…"

※・※・※・※

To be continued…

[A/N¹: Jet Black and Pure white finally met. Although Shiina Mashiro will only be part of the Slice of Life parts of this fanfiction, I still decided to add her to the mix. The author, me, like her. Whatareyougoingtodoaboutit? 😂. Joke.]

[A/N²: Let me cool off my brain first before I jump into another round of basketball content.]