Chapter 62 : Preparation for the Final League

Author note :

I got the timeline wrong in the previous chapter. I said the final league would begin a week after the game against Shutoku. After I checked the manga again, it was a month before the final league begin. I am sorry for the inconvenient, and thank you!

Zeta Faes

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"What the hell did you eat before the exam?!"

"Is this what they called a genius?"

"The betrayal! We sport people should stick together and get the normal result in exam!"

"Are you cheating?"

Furihata could only roll his eyes at the exaggerated reaction from his teammates.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked. "Do you think I am like some sort of anime protagonist that is good at basketball and dumb at everything, then suddenly got lucky in the exam?"

Now, everyone couldn't help but turn around at Kagami who is clueless at the sarcastic comment Furihata throws. But the point guard just ignored their reaction and continued,

"I don't have this kind of luxury to always get lucky in the exam. And getting a remedial lesson is so troublesome. So, what is the best way to get away from that? Of course, just ace every subject, and you will have an easier time in school. Easy, right?"

He could see has a vein popped on their temple, showing an irritated look. Fortunately for him, before anyone could strangle him, Riko intervened.

"Okay, everyone! That's enough!" She spoke loudly, gaining the attention of the others. "And good job, Furihata-kun. I am glad that we have more intelligent people around us here than the dumb ones."

"Hey, what do you mean by the dumb one?!"

Kagami tried to protest. But he backed down immediately after he received the glare from Riko, still remembering the harassment he received this week in the name of study.

"Now that everyone passed the test, we can begin our preparation for the Tokyo Final League. Follow me, everyone!"

She leaves the room, followed by her players who look like a flock of ducks. They left the school and take a walk for about ten minutes until they stopped in front of a gym building.

"Okay, everyone! Welcome to the Aida Gym!"

"Aida? Is that your family name, Senpai?" Kagami asked his coach, his eyes still scanning the building.

"Yup! It was run by my father." Riko nodded before she entered the building. "Come in, everyone!"

They entered the building together and were greeted by a lot of professional gym equipment. However, they didn't stop there and instead went straight to the second room where a huge pool was located inside the gym.

"Woah, this is crazy!" Fukuda exclaimed from behind, his mouth gaping wide. "I cannot believe there is a pool! In fact, I don't know any gyms that have a pool inside them!"

The senior members nodded in agreement, could understand his surprise. He reacted in the same way they did a year ago, after all.

"Well, let's forget about it now. Do you all bring your trunks? Besides Kagami-kun and Furihata-kun, of course." Seeing everyone nod, she continued. "Okay, I will give you fifteen minutes to change your clothes. We will begin our training here in the pool. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Coach!"

"Good. Now, go!"

After everyone left, she turned around just to see Kagami and Furihata are still with her, the latter stares at her with a confused face.

"Something bothering you, Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah." The red-hair nodded. "I cannot understand why training on the pool. I mean, we will have to play in the final league next week. Would it be better to just train our strategy?"

Riko nodded her head, understanding his confusion. However, she didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned around to Furihata and asked,

"What do you think?"

Furihata pondered for a moment before he shrugged.

"I don't know. The only thing I can think of that could relate to basketball and a pool is either for relaxation or endurance training. Moving inside the water would restrain your movement a lot and make it easier to get tired, after all."

"You are half-correct, Furihata-kun." Riko nodded at his answer. "While sure it is good for endurance training, pool training can also be used in other physical training. When standing in chest-deep water, an athlete weighs only 10 percent of his or her normal body weight. The reduction means athletes can work out harder at higher intensity levels several days in a row, without causing wear and tear on their joints and general muscle soreness. So, when working out in a pool you can do two or three intense workouts in a row and not worry about overtraining injuries."

"Aah.. So that is the reason.." Furihata and Kagami nodded their head in sync, understanding the reason behind this kind of training.

"This training would also benefit you a lot, Kagami-kun." Now, she gained Kagami's full attention. "You are the kind of player who takes full advantage of your physical ability, and because water is 12 percent more resistant than air because there are no gravitational forces. Working out in a pool for 30 minutes gives you similar benefits to a two-hour, land-based workout. Water accommodates resistance — the harder you push or pull through it, the more resistance you experience. Just imagine what happened if you do all the physical training here. You can improve your physicality astronomically, and it also included strengthening your knee to avoid injury and even increase your vertical jump. Just like I said, you will gain a lot here."

"Now, that is interesting." Kagami showed his feral grin, and couldn't hide his excitement, receiving a sweatdrop reaction from Furihata.

'Did he forget the 'more tiring' fact here? Or is he just a masochist training junkie just like the dumb protagonist anime? Who does he think he is? Hanamichi Sakuragi?'

Their conversation stops when the others come in after they change their uniforms with trunks, ready for the pool.

"Okay, everyone! We will start with a warming up first!"

Furihata and Kagami took seats not far from the pool, observing the training. One hour later, they both could see how tiring this training was for the team.

"Keep your pace, Junpei!"

"You can rest later! Finish it first!"

"One more! Kuroko-kun, move your legs!"

"Wow, Riko-senpai is really a slave driver," Furihata muttered under his breath. Kagami who heard him also nodded with a slight pale on his face, clearly remembering the torture when she was tutoring him.

"Anyway, what do you think about our chance in the Final League?" Kagami suddenly asked, changing the conversation topic.

"It really depends on how fit we are for the next game." Furihata shrugged. "No disrespect for our teammates, but you are the player who scores the most among us, and I am the third. Hyuga-senpai is the second, but he really depends a lot on the point guard to create space for him. As for Phantom, he would be useless if we couldn't play our best offensive players on the court."

Kagami nodded while looking at his knee, thinking about something stupid.

"The game is still in the next two weeks. Maybe my condition would be better and I will be ready for the game."

Furihata rolled his eyes.

"You said it would take a month before the doctor said you can train again, right?" Seeing Kagami nod, he continued. "Well, you better forget about playing in the next game. Even though you are available, you will become more liability than help for us."

"What do you mean?"

Kagami frowned, surprising Furihata for a moment. Honestly, if it happened a month ago, he would lash out because of that comment. However, Kagami knows by now that Furihata would always have a reason to say something like that, even though it was a bit rude.

"Well, if somehow by miracle you are available for the next game, do you think you will be in shape after spending two weeks without any training? Moreover, our next opponent would be Aomine, someone who was dubbed as the ace of the Generation of Miracles, do you think you would be able to stop him with your condition?"

Kagami's frown deepened at that.

"So, what is your solution? Do you think we should just give up?"

Furihata shrugged before he replied,

"It would be Riko-senpai's decision. But I think she would take this final tournament to test the water." Seeing the confusion grows on Kagami's face, he explained immediately.

"I mean, we have already entered the final league. That means we have secured one advanced ticket for the next winter tournament. And we have already completed our objective here, which is to advance through the final league and took revenge against Seiho and Shutoku. If I were the coach, I would use this final league opportunity just to observe our opponent and prepare for the next winter tournament and the inter-high next year. We are still not strong enough, after all."

When he felt a dissatisfied expression from Kagami, he let out a deep sigh.

"Why are you such in a rush by the way?" He couldn't help but ask. "Is it because of the Generation of Miracles? Every time I talk to you, you will always have this unhealthy obsession with them."

Kagami pondered for a moment before he replied,

"Not really. I just hate losing, I guess."

Furihata nodded his head a little.

"Well, I can see where you are coming from. But you need to learn a bit of patience. We are still a new team, and the teamwork between the first year and the second year is just barely formed and still a bit immature. That's why the other team usually uses the combination between their first and second year in the winter tournament. The inter-high is the place for the experienced team to battle. Just advancing through this final league has already given us enough experience to prepare for the next tournament."

Kagami nodded and decided not to continue the conversation. They both spend a moment in silence before their thought were snapped by the sudden voice from behind.

"Well said, Furihata-san. You are a smart one, aren't you?"

They turned around to see the source of the melodious voice knocked their ears. There, they both could see a pretty girl with pink hair smiling at them as if she knows who they are.

"Who are you?" Kagami asked rudely to the girl. He received a pout from the girl before she replied,

"Are you a bit rude to a girl, Kagami-san?"

Furihata just rolled his eyes at the shocked expression on Kagami's face.

"Why are you that surprised, Red? You are the ace of the team, of course, there would be a lot of people knowing you there." After seeing Kagami nod, he turned to the girl and asked, "And what brings you here, Satsuki Momoi?"

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Author note :

If you want to support me more, you can visit my Patreon page on patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes

You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 82 on that page. Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-