Chapter 01 - Kouki Furihata
Kouki Furihata is your average high school student that just graduated from the middle school. The only thing about him that stands out the most probably is his grade which is somehow abnormally high. Some people even mistook him as a genius, something that he does not completely agree with.
Of course, Furihata knows he is smart. But to call him a genius is like to spit out all of the hard work he puts in to get the grades he had. This is also the thing that people probably know about him.
Furihata is the most hardworking and competitive person that you could meet. He would always work twice as hard as everyone does. He put the quotes ' Hard work beats talents when talent doesn't work hard ' to his heart.
Honestly, sometimes people get tired just by watching him doing something whenever they met.
Furihata is also a very competitive person. It is no secret that he hates losing more than anything in something he puts his interest in. That is probably the reason why he managed to stay awake until midnight a week before the exam just to study. Sometimes, people took pity on his inability to take rest for a while.
But even with all of his craziness, Furihata is happy doing whatever he did. He is enjoying the process of getting better every time he learned or practiced something. And there is one thing that stood out the most from all of his craziness that stood up the most.
Basketball.
Yes, he is a basketball maniac, a basketball nerd, or whatever you called it. You will find him ready on the court near his house training alone from the very early morning until an hour before he has to go to school and after his school period until dinner time.
He did all of the training he could research on Youtube, from shooting, passing, rebounding, playmaking, defending, and a lot more aspect to get better at basketball. It is fortunate for him that there is a small basketball community near his home that helped him practice and let him play to gain experience.
However, no one including him really knows how good he really is among the players with the same age as him. That is because his middle school didn't have the necessary number of players to compete in the tournament, so he had never played in an official tournament.
That is why he is excited about the prospect of joining the basketball team when he was accepted into the high school that he choose.
Seirin High School.
Yes, that is the school that he joined. Their basketball team is a new team that managed to advance through the final league of the Interhigh preliminaries before they were humiliated by the three Tokyo Kings; Senshinkan High, Seihou High, and Shutoku High.
They were completely outmatched in every aspect against the three best teams in Tokyo. But, Seirin would not lose that badly if they had their center, Kiyoshi Teppei, played for them. Unfortunately, the third-year center had to leave the tournament early due to his injury problem.
Nevertheless, this team has the potential to be good. It doesn't hurt that the school itself is not that far from his home, making it easier for him to arrange his time. Overall, Furihata could not think of any better school than this. It is definitely better than the school that has the 'Generation of Miracles' in it.
Furihata shuddered at that thought. He found out two years ago about the existence of the miracle team at Teikou middle school. He had to admit that it was very rare for five prodigies to play in the same generation and on the same team, making them invincible for all the games they had in the middle school tournament.
However, after some research, Furihata found out that they are the worst kind of players that any teams want. They are arrogant, full of themselves, selfish, didn't trust their own teammates, and full of weird quirks. Hell, he even found out that their ace stopped attending the training session at the beginning of their third year in middle school because he believed nobody but him could beat himself.
What an arrogant asshole.
Well, it is not his problem anyway, as he is fortunate enough to not have to deal with them. For now, he has a form to fill out for the registration to join Seirin's basketball team.
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"So, what position do you play?" A teenager with a bald head tried to make a conversation while they are filling out their form. His name is Koichi Kawahara, another first year.
"I am a center!" A spiky-haired teenager answered the question with a loud voice, resulting in a blink from Furihata and Kawahara. His name is Hiroshi Fukuda, another one who wants to join the basketball team.
"Really? You are a center? You don't look like it." Kawahara said with a hint of skepticism in his voice.
Furihata could not blame him, as Fukuda is not that high as a center. He is about 180 cm, not an ideal height for a player who had to battle for every rebound under the rim. However, Fukuda patted his own chest as he tries to reassure Kawahara.
"Don't worry about me. I might be too small for a center, but I can hold my own. How about you?" Kawahara nodded at the answer before he replied,
"I am a small forward. I am not the best player on the court, but you can depend on me in the defense."
Furihata nodded while racking his brain for the possibility of playing with them.
"What about you?" Fukuda's voice snapped Furihata from his mind.
"I am sorry, can you say it again?" The boy rolled his eyes and asked once again,
"We have already said our position, so how about you?" Seeing that there is no harm in telling them, Furihata shrugged,
"Well, I am a point guard, so you can expect me to hold the ball most of the time on the court. Sorry for that anyway."
However, Kawahara waved his hand for Furihata's apology.
"Don't worry about it. I know it is going to happen. As long as the team wins, I don't really care who will be in the spotlight." Fukuda nodded.
"Same for me. I am not the best scorer on the court, but if I can help the team win, I will not hesitate to take any shot."
Furihata could not help but grin at their response. Even though they are just average first-year players, they have the same mindset as him, so it would help in the long run.
"So, have both of you finished your form?" Kawahara asked. Furihata and Fukuda nodded at the same time.
"Good. Let's put it to the basketball team."
As they walked through the schoolyard, they have a hard time finding the booth for the basketball team as it is the last day of registration for any club. The schoolyard was filled with almost all of the first-years who wanted to join any club in Seirin as today is the last day to join a club.
Fortunately, Furihata managed to find the booth as he looked at one strange red-haired teenager who stood out the most in front of one booth.
"Hey, I think I found the booth. Follow me." Kawahara and Fukuda nodded while the later murmured,
"Good. I cannot stand with the crowd like this."
The three of them managed to escape the crowd just in time for Furihata to hear an arrogant statement from the red-haired teenager,
"Basketball in Japan is weak, after all." He said that as he leaves the booth, leaving everyone stunned with what he said.
As for Furihata, that statement is enough for him to dislike the red hair.
'I came here to avoid the Generation of Miracles, but now we have one with a similar mentality? How unfortunate!' He whined inwardly.
Well, he couldn't get anything he wants in his life, so he better accepts it now.
"Ano…" Fukuda spoke, trying to snap the girl who is probably the manager. It works as the girl turned her attention to the three.
"We are first-years and we want to join the team."
The girl's expression shifted quickly from being stunned by the red hair's statement to the happy one.
"Sure! Just put your form here and come to the gym tomorrow morning, okay? We will start with an assessment for you."
She smiles sweetly, making Fukuda and Kawahara gulp nervously. However, a smirk could be seen on Furihata's face, as he definitely couldn't wait for tomorrow.