In the days that followed, Haizaki Shogo gradually fell into his own rhythm.
Today, he trained with a beautiful coach at the fencing hall.
Tomorrow, he will head to the Sanda gym to receive a brutal beating from others.
At the same time, he successfully settled into his new school.
There were no melodramatic, dog-blood clichés at all.
The only small incident was that when Haizaki Shogo went to register, his handsome appearance caused a few soft-voiced girls to squeal in excitement.
That made Haizaki Shogo feel both pleased… and troubled.
Because right now, he absolutely did not want to attract attention.
At this stage, Haizaki Shogo wanted only one thing—
to continuously improve his physical condition,
to improve his basketball skills,
and to improve his overall strength.
Then, when the timing was right, he would wash away his past humiliation and tell that person:
Sorry, your eyes must be blind.
Someone like me isn't someone you can see through.
SPLASH!
Haizaki Shogo plunged headfirst into the water and began swimming joyfully in the pool.
The fatigue accumulated from an entire day of training seemed to be released at that very moment, leaving his mood incredibly light.
But that feeling was an illusion.
By the time Haizaki Shogo finished his two-hour swimming endurance training before bed, his entire body was limp, completely drained of strength.
After hastily taking a shower, he collapsed onto his large bed and fell straight into sleep.
His gentle mother quietly opened the door, tucked him in, drew the curtains, turned off the lights, and only then left the room with peace of mind.
Haizaki Shogo knew nothing of this—he had already sunk into deep slumber.
For moments like these, not disturbing them was the kindest choice.
Early the next morning, Haizaki Shogo looked at himself in the mirror.
The blood-red new school uniform suited him quite well.
Whether viewed from the front or the side, it looked good—far, far better than Teiko's white funeral-style uniform.
Slipping his basketball and schoolbag onto his back, Haizaki Shogo walked out of his room, grabbed a sandwich and a banana from the dining table, and said indistinctly with his mouth full:
"Morning, Mom—I'm heading out!"
"Good morning, Shogo-kun. Come home early tonight."
"Mm! Got it!"
Faced with a mother as gentle as water, Haizaki Shogo returned her care with the highest respect and heartfelt affection.
Yawning lazily, he strolled step by step toward Fukuda Sogo Academy's middle school division.
He was now a second-year middle school student—the same grade as Aomine Daiki and Kuroko.
That was precisely why Kuroko called him Haizaki-kun, instead of Haizaki-senpai.
On the way, Haizaki Shogo noticed that the "Medium" stamina on his status panel had finally turned into "High," which made him genuinely happy.
At the very least, his weaknesses were no longer glaring.
Now, he didn't really have any obvious shortcomings left.
As for mental fortitude?
To a reincarnator like him, that was trash-tier—child's play, something only good for scaring middle schoolers.
Looking at the panel, Haizaki Shogo still felt a bit puzzled.
The displayed stats were roughly:
Strength: High
Agility: High
Stamina: High
After this period of training, stamina had clearly risen.
Strength and agility hadn't changed numerically, yet Haizaki Shogo could distinctly feel both of them continuing to grow.
This left him with two possible explanations.
One: the data panel could only record up to "High," and anything beyond that simply wasn't shown.
Two: the increases in strength and agility hadn't yet reached the threshold for the next tier, so the displayed values remained unchanged.
Haizaki Shogo leaned toward the second explanation.
After all, it was obvious that in both speed and power, he still couldn't match Aomine Daiki or Murasakibara Atsushi.
Based on his own speculation, Aomine's sudden "bloom" later on was likely due to agility breaking past the "High" tier—creating that overwhelmingly dominant and charismatic Aomine Daiki.
Lost in these thoughts,
Haizaki Shogo stepped through the school gate.
Amid the chirping screams and envious whispers of girls, he entered the classroom and was immediately met with the gazes of all his classmates.
There was no helping it—
Haizaki Shogo's silver-gray long hair gave him a charm that was simply too strong, easily rivaling Kise Ryouta.
The girl sitting in front of him turned around and smiled in greeting.
"Good morning, Shogo-kun!"
"Morning, Shimizu Rena."
The girl sitting in front of Haizaki Shogo was both the class beauty and the grade beauty—a famous top-tier beauty of Fukuda Sogo Academy's middle school division.
The reason Shimizu Rena ended up sitting in front of him was simple:
Haizaki Shogo had noticed her rose-red long hair, which reminded him of Satsuki's rose-colored eyes.
Feeling that sense of familiarity, Haizaki Shogo naturally walked over and sat down behind Shimizu Rena.
He knew very well that he still liked Satsuki.
But in this lifetime, Satsuki probably would never like him back.
Most likely, Satsuki herself didn't yet realize just how deep her dependence on—and affection for—Aomine truly was.
A girl willing to follow a boy without hesitation, from elementary school to middle school, to high school, and possibly even university…
That kind of bond was far deeper than words could express.
Every time Haizaki Shogo thought about this, he could only shake his head.
Trying to steal Satsuki and make her my girlfriend…
That's just way too hard!!
That was exactly why, that day at the school gate, Haizaki Shogo had taken Satsuki's first kiss.
There was no special reason.
It was simply because of her deep bond with Aomine Daiki.
To Haizaki Shogo, taking that first kiss was both an answer to his own feelings for her… and a way to bring things to an end.
"Shogo-kun, do you have a club you're interested in?"
"Yeah. But I've been pretty busy lately. Once things settle down, I'll join one, Shimizu-chan."
Shimizu Rena was quite pleased with how naturally Haizaki Shogo addressed her.
His handsome appearance, mixed with a slightly rogue-like, delinquent aura, suited her tastes very well.
Haizaki Shogo also understood that the pretty girl in front of him had feelings for him.
But at the moment, he really wasn't thinking about romance.
He preferred to let things happen naturally—too lazy to worry about it.
"Then, Shogo-kun, which club will you join later?"
"Hmm… probably the basketball club. Though honestly, the current basketball club isn't really worth much."
"Shogo-kun, our school is actually pretty strong. We're at least in the top ten."
"Shimizu-chan, top ten, is still too weak. If there's a chance, I'll let you see what a real powerhouse looks like."
"Shogo-kun… the 'powerhouse' you're talking about isn't yourself, is it?"
"Ah! Hahaha! Maybe!"
"Alright, Shimizu-chan—can you lend me your notes from the past few days?"
Almost immediately, a notebook with a rose-red cover was passed back to him.
It carried a faint jasmine fragrance, fresh and neat in style—not the kind of girly aesthetic Haizaki Shogo disliked.
"Thanks!"
"No problem, Shogo-kun!"
Life suddenly became… ordinary.
Training his body.
Practicing basketball.
Flirting with girls.
Studying and writing.
And really—
Isn't that exactly what youth is all about?
=============
150 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
Add to Library to support