The building was even more impressive inside: a super-gymnasium with multiple full courts, professional flooring, lighting that could accommodate broadcast television, and seating for what had to be over a thousand spectators.
Hundreds of people here to watch two hundred teenagers compete for thirty spots. It was an event. Entertainment—Spectacle. AriTorus gaze tracked across the crowd and he spotted them immediately—beautiful girls.There were so many. One here, two there, an absolutely gorgeous loner there, twins!....god this is heaven.
[FOCUS]
[YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY WINKS OR BLOWN KISSES IF YOU DON'T DELIVER]
[ACTUALLY, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GETTING THOSE REGARDLESS]
[BUT DEFINITELY NOT IF YOU FAIL HERE]
[BASKETBALL NOW, FOOLISH DELUSIONS LATER]
"Right," Ari shook his head as if shedding away all distractions , "focus."
It's not like that's why he was playing basketball. If he just wanted to be popular he could just use academics. The real reason was more powerful.
[LOOK UP]
An arrow appeared in Ari's vision, pointing toward a specific section of the stands. He followed it and saw them:
The current team. Yoshimura's starting lineup, sitting together in a reserved section like generals observing troops. These were among if not the highest status of Yoshimura high.
Norikai Yori was impossible to miss. 6'10" of presence. He was wearing a black hoodie suite jacket.
Ari really needed to get one of those.
It was cotton thick with the inside of the head over being gray. The blazer was silver and he said no tie. Meanwhile his pants weren't pants but styled black baggy shorts that revealed massive purely sculpted legs. Calves that looked like cartoons. Then purple basketball shoes that went with short white socks. He looked so cool.
Next to him was a guy who wasn't short per say. He just looked small by comparison, Akihiko Heishi.
The pretty boy rockstar. The poster child. Yoshimura's point guard and resident heartthrob, sitting in his chair like he was lounging in his own living room rather than observing the tryouts. He was maybe 6'2", with a dyed blonde mullet hair and multiple ring piercings on the lobe of bis right ear. His features were soft—feminine in a way that made people go crazy over him. Sea blue eyes. Looked down in amusement.
He wore the team jacket casually unbuttoned over a designer green T-shirt. It was wrote CALIFORNIA.
He was standing—of course he was standing, he looked like the type who couldn't sit still—Deevay Murray. American transfer student, maybe a little shorter than Ari but actually jacked. Not athletic-lean like Yori, but genuinely muscular, swol gym rat jacked. His arms could curl a basketball till it burst.
He had a short afro with mid level faded sides, the top portion was curly with hints of orange or light brown dyed in. His skin was a warm almost reddish brown, and he surveyed the first years below with "hyper competition" in his eyes.
The Captain
Leaning against Yori, eyes half-closed, on the verge of sleep, was Suzuha Goro.
Ari had barely found any information about him online—no Instagram presence, no social media, just occasional mentions in game reports. But everyone who followed Yoshimura basketball knew about his ability: "I See."
Whatever that means. It sounded like a superpower from an anime. Some kind of enhanced perception or prediction ability? Court vision taken to an extreme?
From this distance, Ari couldn't make out details, but Goro seemed about his height—maybe 6'6"—with more bulk but not excessive muscle. Light skin, short black hair clipped on one side and meant to fall across the other. His face was calm in a way that was almost unsettling, like he was watching something interesting but not particularly concerned about its outcome.
To Goro's left, writing rapidly in a thick notebook with a Spider-Man cover, was Runa Mizuhara.
She looked even more beautiful than yesterday.
How Ari could tell from that far, only he knows.
Though now she wore a serious expression..more professional.
Her purple hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and she wore what looked like a team manager polo with khaki pants around her figure 8 shale.
Her eyes were locked on something below, and Ari followed her gaze downward
She was watching Isami Nagi...
...Isami Nagi.
[SHE IS WATCHING THE PRINCE COBRA]
[NOT YOU]]
[YOU ARE COMPLETELY FORGETTABLE]
[BACKGROUND CHARACTER ENERGY]
The observation went straight into Ari's spine like a knife. He felt his confidence waver. He was a *nobody here. Unknown. Unproven. About to be exposed as the mediocre player he actually was.
[BUT]
[THAT'S ALSO YOUR ADVANTAGE]
[NO HIGH EXPECTATIONS MEANS NO PRESSURE TO MAINTAIN AN IMAGE]
[NO REPUTATION MEANS NOTHING TO LOSE]
[YOU CAN FAIL AND NOBODY WILL BE SURPRISED]
[OR YOU CAN SUCCEED AND EVERYONE WILL BE SHOCKED]
[LOW EXPECTATIONS ARE A GIFT]
[USE THEM]
Sure.....being overlooked was better than being overhyped. He just needed to survive, to prove he belonged, to—
He looked around for Elaine, suddenly wanting to see if she was watching. To see her expression when he proved her wrong.
But he couldn't find her in the crowd. Maybe she wasn't here. Or maybe he just couldn't find her in the large number of people. Maybe the Yoshimura student assistant had better things to do than watch first years compete.
Or maybe she just didn't care enough to show up.
[FORGET ABOUT HER]
[FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS]
A voice cut through the chaos, amplified by the Pavilion's sound system:
"Alright, alright, settle down!"
Every head turned toward the speaker—a man standing at center court with a microphone, looking... not at all like what Ari had expected a legendary coach to look like.
Sojima Hosei was short for basketball standards—maybe 5'10", possibly 5'9". He was chubby, with a prominent belly that strained slightly against his Yoshimura polo. His hair was silver despite Google saying he was only in his forties. There was still dark hair.
But it was mixed with silver to creat an overall grey effect. Red cheeks. A thick beard and mustache, both predominantly silver.
And he was sipping a Pepsi. Casually. Like he was at a barbecue.
"Is the AC not working?" Sojima complained into the mic, wiping his forehead with his handkerchief. "It's hot in here. Someone check the AC."
The temperature in the Pavilion was freezing. Everyone was comfortable, maybe even cold.
Is this really the coach?! Ari thought, stunned.
[SOJIMA HOSEI]
[NBA CHAMPION]
[MIAMI HEAT, 2002-2003 SEASON]
[BACKUP POINT GUARD]
[HE WAS NOT A STARTER BUT AN IMPORTANT ROTATION PLAYER]
Ari knew this—he'd researched extensively after getting accepted to Yoshimura. But finding actual footage of Coach Sojima's playing days had been nearly impossible. A few clips here and there, mostly him on the bench or coming in for garbage time minutes. But he had a very accurate mid range shot.
And now look at him: overweight, casually dressed, drinking soda during tryouts.
"He really let himself go."
[NOT EXACTLY]
[HE IS ENJOYING HIS WEALTH AND HIS JOB]
[BY FILLING HIS BELLY]
[SEMI-RETIRED NBA PLAYER LIVING HIS BEST LIFE]
[COACHING HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE HE WANTS TO]
[NOT BECAUSE HE NEEDS TO]
[HE KNOWS HIS PRIORITIES]
Ari couldn't help it—he laughed. A short, quiet sound that immediately made several nearby students look at him like he was insane.
Laughing at nothing. Looking like a weirdo. Great start.
Then Sojima coughed, handing his empty Pepsi to a student
coordinator who'd appeared with a fresh one—complete with a straw. He took a long sip, then seemed to remember he was supposed to be talking.
"Where was I?" he said into the mic. "Oh. Right. Yes."
His demeanor changed. His casual laziness turned into a powerful calm. He oozed the energy of a man who demanded wins.
"You will divide yourselves," Sojima said, pausing to burp quietly, "into groups."
That's when Ari noticed other students scattered throughout the Pavilion, wearing different colored vests marked "COORDINATOR." They began moving through the crowd, clipboard in hand, organizing the chaos.
Twenty groups. Ten students each.
The Pavilion was massive—not one basketball court but six distinct courts arranged throughout the space. Not to mention he saw some other students being led out through the back into another building. Because of course the six basketball courts in the main gymnasium wasn't enough.
[YOU ARE ABOUT TO SUFFER]
[ALL 200 OF YOU]
Coordinators began calling out assignments, sorting students into groups. Trying their best to organise.
Ari found himself directed to "Group J" along with nine other first years—a mix of heights and builds. They all looked nervous and determined in equal measure.
"Suicides!" one of the coordinators announced with what sounded like sadistic glee. "Full court, 10 times, go!"
And they were off.
Running. Back and forth. Baseline to free throw line and back. Baseline to half court and back. Baseline to opposite free throw line and back. Baseline to opposite baseline and back. That was one suicide. 10 times.
Ari ran, it didn't take time before his lungs started feeling hollow and his legs to reach hat stage where he conciously worked hard not to fall. Seven guys in his group moved like freakin gazelles. Fast and fluid...barely breaking a sweat. Two others were struggling.
One kid looked like he might collapse, his face was bright red, breath coming in desperate gasps. Another was just barely ahead of Ari.
Wanting to leave the bums and join the gazelle squad. But he was juuust falling short.
And Ari himself was... surviving.
[DO NOT RUN TOP SPEED]
[CONSERVE STAMINA]
A display appeared in Ari's vision:
[CURRENT PACE: 78% MAX SPEED]
[HEART RATE: 152 BPM]
[STAMINA: 61% REMAINING]
[MAINTAIN THIS PACE]
[SHOW THAT THIS DOES NOT TIRE YOU]
[EVEN THOUGH IT DEFINITELY DOES]
Thirty minutes of running. Suicides, full-court sprints, defensive slides. No water breaks. No rest except what your body forced you to take when you physically could not continue.
Some kids were already done—collapsed on the sidelines, heads between their knees, gasping. Ari could see coordinators making notes, checking names off lists. This wasn't just conditioning. This was ELIMINATION.
Ari was gassed. His legs were lead. His lungs....AH. he could taste his lungs. Dry throat.
Transparent liquid was suddenly all he could think about.
But he kept moving. He kept his posture straight. Didn't allow himself to bend over or show weakness.
[STAMINA: 23% REMAINING]
[YOU ARE DYING]
[BUT YOU ARE DYING WITH DIGNITY]
Finally, mercifully, Coach Sojima's voice crackled over the speaker: "Alright, that's enough...", people fell whwre they stood.
The crowd was filming the people. Not many humans ever come across another human who was truly truly exhausted to the muscle. This was a sight for Yoshimura students.
And they relished it.
Cheers went around. Cheers of pain. Moe pain. The crowd was fucking hungry...
And Coach Hosei was laughing. Giggling at the reaction of the players. If he spoke you couldn't even hear him.
That's how hard the fans were jeering and cheering and everything in-between.
When it finally got low he took his time lips to the microphone. ..."Water Break."
I mean you could hear the joy in his voice. In seeing the students faces realising they were just getting started. " Fiveee minutes ". He literally sang.
While lots of the first years were collapsing and hugging down water bottles in a disgusting mix of saliva and sweat...
'Yuuk'
Ari made it to a bench, sat down with as much control as he could manage, and focused on breathing slowly, regularly. Not gasping. Not showing how close he was to puking.
"System," he whispered. "Show me my stats."
[CURRENT STATS - TORU ARI]
[PHYSICAL:]
[POWER: 25/100]
[STAMINA: 40/100]
[VERTICAL: 21/100]
[SPEED: 38/100]
[BASKETBALL:]
[SHOOTING: 23/100]
[DEFENSE: 18/100]
[ATHLETICISM: 28/100]
[IQ: 72/100]
[PASSING: 31/100]
[SKILL: 18/100]
[SUCIDE RUNS COMPLETED: BASKETBALL SLIDES COMPLETED]
[TRY OUT PERFORMANCE: MEDIOCRE]
[SKILL POINTS AWARDED = +5]
[SKILL POINTS AVAILABLE: 5.5]
'Ahh...that wasn't even worth improving a stat by 2.'
BUZZ
BUZZING
Everyone was BUZZING with anticipation. It was like being in a coliseum where the spectator's wanted you to stop resting and be thrown back into the fight. Or into the hellish tryouts.
"F...five points seems a bit." Ari was quiet. Pausing to catch his breath. " Isn't that too little?"
[YOU GET MORE POINTS BASED ON YOUR PERFORMANCE IN IMPORTANT EVENTS. TRY OUTS AND REAL BASKETBALL GAMES]
[BY THE WAY DO NOT FORGET YOUR QUESTS FOR TODAY]
[YOU HAVE FOUR DAILY QUESTS]
Ari cursed under his breath. He might not even be able to walk after day one was over. But he knew how many points he could get from completing the daily quests.
Anyways .. he'd focus on the tryouts for now.
Each group had two coordinators assigned to it—one to direct, one to document. Like a scientific experiment.
They were being studied. Evaluated. Ranked.
Then Coach was back.
"Listen up!"
He was still at the centre of the court. The silver head Coach smiled.
"Next drill: CSRP."
The gymnasium went quiet. Students looked at each other in confusion. Ari felt his stomach drop—he'd never heard of CSRP. He was a basketball geek who knew lots and lots of basketball. He'd amassed knowledge especially, when he stopped playing the sport.
And yet in all his nerdiness. He didn't know about ...eh... CSRP.
He'd never encountered that acronym.
"System."
[HMM?]
He smiled taking especial offense their was an acronym he didn't know or understand."Whats CSRP?"
[....]
[....SO YOU SUCK AT BEING A NERD TOO]
"I don't suck at anything... Ho_
The system pulled up a diagram:
[CSRP - CATCH, SHOOT, REBOUND, PASS ]