บท 63: Chapter 63: Friendly match
"I didn't anticipate running into you again in Japan. It's been ages, Tsuna..."
Midorima commented while fixing his gaze on Tsuna, who quickly glanced at Otsubo approaching them.
"It has indeed been a while. How's life treating you?" Tsuna inquired as he turned back to Midorima.
"Not much has changed. How long are you planning to stay this time?" Midorima questioned, assuming Tsuna was in Japan for a brief visit.
Tsuna chuckled at this and asked, "Do you recall my promise, Shintaro?"
Midorima furrowed his brows in thought.
"Well, we can discuss that later. Right now, I need to have a chat with your captain..." Tsuna said, shaking his head slightly, then turned his attention to Otsubo, waiting for Midorima's response as he glanced at him.
"Hey there! We're in the middle of a practice game here."
Otsubo stepped up to Tsuna, his expression clearly showing his irritation with the interruption.
Giving Tsuna a quick once-over, noticing his formal attire that looked too fancy and didn't match their school uniform, Otsubo shook his head. "You're not a student here, are you? Do you realize you're intruding?"
"You fucker! What on earth did you just do?"
Takao interjected with a mixture of frustration and bewilderment on his face.
Otsubo's frown deepened at this, and Miyaji, who had just joined the scene, also wore a disapproving look.
Takao remained oblivious as he carried on, "I didn't bring you here to disrupt our training. Seriously, what's going on? I thought you were friends with Shin. Why did you do that?"
Miyaji seemed to lose his temper. He grabbed Takao's shoulder and hissed, "So, you're the one who brought this intruder here, huh? T-A-K-A-O?"
"Uh? Y-Yes...?"
Takao suddenly snapped back to reality. He shivered involuntarily as he robotically turned his head to face Miyaji.
Miyaji nodded with an angelic smile, grabbing Takao by the collar like someone taking their misbehaving pet outside. Shortly after, the gymnasium resounded with Takao's painful screams.
Oddly, nobody inside paid much attention to the commotion. On the other hand, Tsuna watched the scene with an amused smile.
Otsubo appeared unfazed as if he'd seen this sort of thing before. Midorima, despite a pleading look from Takao a while ago, chose to ignore the situation, pretending not to notice.
"Ah, my apologies for the confusion. I'm Tsunayoshi Kazama," Tsuna responded with a professional smile as he extended his hand for a handshake.
Otsubo, his frown still firmly in place, accepted the handshake but looked perplexed. "I thought you were here for Midorima. Are you sure you're not here for him?"
Otsubo couldn't quite grasp why Tsuna, who claimed to know Midorima, sought him out.
Otsubo sighed, still unsure about Tsuna's intentions. "Alright, you have my attention. What brings you here?"
Tsuna's smile remained warm as he explained, "I'm the captain of Fukuda Sogo Academy, and I'm here to request a friendly match with Shutoku. What do you say, Captain? I thought it would be a great opportunity for our teams to play against each other."
Midorima's eyes widened in recognition, and he finally remembered Tsuna's promise to return to Japan.
Midorima suddenly understood Tsuna's intentions.
He realized that Tsuna had interrupted their practice game to showcase his basketball skills while dressed in a formal suit and shoes. Tsuna was doing so to make Otsubo take his invitation for a friendly match seriously.
However, Midorima widened his eyes as he sharply glanced at Tsuna's shoes.
"...He could do it with these shoes?"
Midorima muttered under his breath, noting how Tsuna had blocked his shot despite wearing formal shoes.
It surprised him, but he couldn't help but find it intriguing. His lips curled into a faint smile, and he remarked, "Interesting."
Otsubo, still skeptical, nodded and asked, "A friendly match, you say?"
However, he recalled that Fukuda Sogo Academy was from a different city, and he raised a valid point, "Aren't you guys a team from Shizuoka?"
"Why does it matter?"
Tsuna shook his head in response to Otsubo's question.
Otsubo let out another sigh. He couldn't deny that the invitation was unusual, but Tsuna's skill was undeniable.
Blocking Midorima's shot was no small feat. Otsubo knew that players like Murasakibara from the Generation of Miracles could achieve it, but not someone in a formal suit and shoes.
What struck Otsubo as even more unusual was that Tsuna was clearly a first-year student. Becoming a captain within just a few weeks of enrolling in a school was unheard of.
Otsubo examined Tsuna closely, trying to make sense of the situation.
Tsuna's polite smile didn't put him at ease; instead, he felt an unexplained sense of threat from this seemingly unassuming newcomer. Something about Tsuna's deep, dark eyes set off his instincts.
His internal alarm bells were ringing loudly.
"This guy... is dangerous," Otsubo thought to himself.
Shaking away this unnecessary thought. Otsubo turned to his team as he asked, "What do you guys think?"
Otsubo felt relieved as the others in his team seemed nonchalant about the idea. They shrugged and responded with a casual "Why not?"
Otsubo was confident in his team. After all, Shutoku had a storied history of 11 years of competition and was often referred to as The Legendary King.
Turning to Midorima, Otsubo asked for his opinion, to which Midorima responded with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and a simple...
"I don't mind," while adjusting his glasses.
Otsubo was about to delve into the specifics, like when and where the match would take place, when Tsuna interjected, seemingly anticipating his question.
"That sounds perfect. I'll bring my team here in a week, so be prepared," Tsuna announced confidently.
In truth, Tsuna had already decided about this friendly match even before approaching Shutoku.
He believed that coming to a new environment and getting a new challenge would be a rare opportunity to boost his team's morale and overall mental health, which would, in turn, benefit their training and performance.
Turning to Midorima, Tsuna asked, "Do you still have more training today?"
"Yeah, we've got a few more drills to wrap up before cooling down," Midorima replied.
"I see," Tsuna nodded in understanding. He remembered there was a coffee shop right in front of the school. "Let's meet up there, and I'll wait for you."
"...Thank you for your understanding. See you later," Midorima said with a nod as Tsuna began to walk away from the court.
Otsubo said, "You're welcome to skip the last few drills if you'd like."
Midorima shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'll finish up here."
He didn't want to skip his training, not after witnessing Tsuna's impressive skills. It had ignited a competitive fire within him as a faint smile crept onto his face.
Midorima glanced at the bottle of perfume he had placed on the bench earlier. It was his lucky item for the day, according to Oha Asa horoscopes.
He muttered, "So, this is what Oha Asa horoscopes meant by 'Cancer will have a surprise today.' As always, Oha Asa horoscopes prove to be accurate."
---
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