Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: Sleepover, Shadows, and a Shot from the Past

🏫 Scene 1: Sleepover Madness at Shohoku

Coach Anzai approved a "team bonding sleepover" in the school gym. Big mistake.

Sakuragi brought five duffel bags—none of them had clothes.

"Snacks, man. PRIORITIES."

Miyagi brought a portable speaker and terrible taste in pop music.

Ayako brought a flashlight, horror stories, and a fan (for hitting people).

Haruko came too, helping set up the sleeping mats—making the gym feel oddly warm.

Me? I brought my hoodie, my doubts, and a rising headache.

🔦 Scene 2: Ghost Stories & Cringe

It started with someone turning the lights off.

Ayako: "Okay, let's play a game. If you flinch during the story… you do pushups."

Sakuragi: "HA! I fear NOTHING!"

Narrator: He absolutely did.

Rukawa, of course, fell asleep mid-story.

Sakuragi screamed like a child when someone tapped his shoulder during the ghost bride story.

Yohei? Completely unfazed. Probably immune to fear.

Then Ayako asked me to share a ghost story.

But all I could think of…

Was one I didn't make up.

😴 Scene 3: Kudo's Dream (Flashback Begins)

I saw myself.

But not as Kudo Hirata.

As Akira Shindai.

The lights of the arena. The roar of the crowd. My old jersey—No. 10.

A match point. The score: 89–88. Clock ticking.

I looked to my teammates. I remember their faces clearly.

"If we win this... we go to nationals."

I moved. I passed. I faked. I jumped.

Then… everything went white.

That game—I never finished it. I died before I got to.

😰 Scene 4: Awake, But Not Alone

I sat up, heart pounding.

And across the gym—

By the window—

I saw someone watching.

Not one of the guys. Not a teacher.

A tall figure in a jacket. A face I couldn't fully see.

But something about him made my chest tighten.

He saw me. Smiled. Then vanished into the night.

🧠 Internal Monologue

Who was that? A student? An illusion?

Why did he look at me like… he knew me?

And worse:

Why did I feel like I knew him too?

I touched my chest.

The echoes of Akira's last game still burned in me.

There was unfinished business.

📓 Final Thoughts

Basketball used to be just a game.

Now it's a mystery. A key. A second chance.

There's someone out there watching me.

There's a past that's creeping closer.

And I'm starting to believe…

This isn't just reincarnation.

This is a rematch fate owes me.