MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

"Excuse me," said Sachiko as she walked in and cleared her throat.

"Oh, you're the new vice president of the student council, Sachiko Takahashi, right?" asked Nanaho.

"Yeah, that's me," replied Sachiko.

"So what brings you here? Did you come to observe our training?"

"Well, I actually came here to discuss something important with Kawaguchi. It won't take long or interfere with his training, so do you mind if I borrow him for a bit?" asked Sachiko.

"Not at all, go ahead."

"We are in the middle of practice. Come back another time," said Tetsuo with an emotionless look on his face.

"I see no problem with you leaving training for a couple of minutes, so go ahead, Tetsuo. Time is ticking," said Nanaho with a menacing smile.

Tetsuo, who didn't want to go, sighed as he followed Sachiko outside.

"Trying to play hard to get, aren't we, Tetsuo? Serves you right," Noboru thought to himself with a smirk.

"What do you want?" asked Tetsuo.

"Well, I came here on behalf of the student council president, Hitomi Yoshida. She is asking you once more to become a member of the council," said Sachiko.

"This again? I thought I made myself clear the last time she asked. I don't want anything to do with the student council or you. Besides, I'm sure you all know that I play basketball now, and I'm not going to give it up just to please her," said Tetsuo in a blunt and calm voice.

"But this school—"

"If that's all you came here to ask, then I'm heading back to training," said Tetsuo as he turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" shouted Sachiko, making Tetsuo stop.

"The student council helps students solve issues and foster a better environment for learning. So I view it as more important than basketball. However, you might be thinking the same about basketball. So I have a proposal—show me how to play the game. Let me see basketball through your eyes and teach me everything there is to know. If I find it fascinating, I'll stop asking you to join the student council. However, one day, you'll also have to come to the council to see how we operate as well," said Sachiko.

"Fine, but be sure to listen carefully because I won't repeat myself," said Tetsuo after sighing.

"This is the first time I've ever had a proper conversation with him without being ignored. That kind of makes me happy in a way," thought Sachiko as her cheeks turned bright red.

Hayato passed the ball to Liam in the post, where both Takahiro and Yukio double-teamed him.

"Remember, Liam, drop your hip," advised Yukio.

Liam then dropped lower and pounded the ball, pushing both Yukio and Takahiro back. He then spun off of them and slammed the ball into the hoop.

"You're a freaking monster, you know that?" said Noboru jealously.

"Yeah, you say that every time I dunk," replied Liam.

"What's up with Tetsuo? It's not like him to go out of his way and do things like this for anyone," thought Shino to himself.

"I didn't know that Tetsuo and the vice president were dating," said Hayato.

"Yeah, me either. I'm a bit surprised he has a girlfriend with his dull personality," said Takahiro.

"Quit your gossiping and get back to training, or do you all want to run with the track team today?" asked Nanaho as she stood behind them.

"No, thank you!" shouted both Hayato and Takahiro, startled.

"Listen and watch carefully. This is a layup," said Tetsuo as he shot a layup that swished.

"This is a free throw," he said, shooting a free throw that swished. "A player gets to shoot these when someone makes illegal contact with them, and these only count for one point."

"This is a three-point shot," said Tetsuo as he shot a three-pointer that swished.

Tetsuo then caught the basketball and bounced it on the floor.

"This is what we call dribbling. We use it to move from point A to point B around the court. If we don't, it's called traveling or carrying."

He then threw the ball against the backboard and grabbed it out of the air.

"This is a rebound. It's basically collecting the ball after a missed shot."

"And as you can see over there, my teammates are guarding each other. That is called defense. Those are the most basic movements and actions in basketball. Any questions?" asked Tetsuo.

"No, I… understand. I didn't know basketball was this complex and complicated. I thought it was just a game where you throw a ball into a net," thought Sachiko, astonished by her findings.

"Well, if that's all, I'm heading back to training."

"Wait, can you show me how to shoot?" asked Sachiko.

Tetsuo threw the basketball to Sachiko, startling her as she caught it.

"Show me how you'd shoot the ball."

"Okay, I'll try."

Sachiko got into a weird shooting stance, awkwardly trying to keep the ball upright. Tetsuo walked over to her to correct her form.

"Your hands are all over the place. Relax," said Tetsuo as he adjusted her hand position.

"Straighten yourself. There's no need to be slouching," he said, straightening her up.

"Alright, now bend your knees for power and relax your shoulders," he said as he went behind her to fix her form once more.

"He's so close," thought Sachiko as she blushed.

"Alright, now shoot the ball in a single motion, and remember to flick your wrist."

"Y-yes," said Sachiko as she took a deep breath and shot the ball. To her surprise, it swished.

"It went in! You're a good teacher, Kawaguchi."

"I'm going to resume my training. If you want to stay and watch, you can join those girls up there," said Tetsuo as he rejoined the practice.

"Don't categorize me with those fangirls, jerk," thought Sachiko angrily.

After the resumption of training, Tetsuo passed the basketball to Yukio in the paint, where Liam started guarding him. Yukio then dished the ball out to Takahiro, who used his strength and height advantage against Noboru to beat him to the rim.

Takahiro then went up for a layup, which Liam attempted to block. Instead, Takahiro passed the ball out to Tetsuo, who shot a three-pointer that swished.

"Nice shot, Tetsuo," said Yukio.

"These chumps got nothing on us, even if they have Liam on their team," said Takahiro.

"Let's keep this up and go all the way to the Inter-High," said Yukio enthusiastically.

"I can see clearly now why Haruko loves basketball. It's not just about the sport, but the people you train hard and play with, and the time you spend together. Basketball is really fun," thought Sachiko as she walked off.

"I guess I'll stop asking him to join the student council then. However, this time, I didn't leave empty-handed because that brief moment we shared was more than just progress."