Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 63.3: The Man Who Loved Basketball

One day, during the spring of his fifth year in elementary school…

“Yuuto-kun, want to play basketball?”

“Huh? Sure.”

Rina, who usually plays video games for more than five hours a day, invited me to play sports. I couldn’t help but make a strange noise, but I was grateful for the invitation.

After the sports festival, they asked me to play with them and we ignored the participant limit and played casually with almost everyone from the class.

In reality, I wanted to play by the actual rules and give it my all. However, it’s a hassle to gather guys who want to play basketball. And the girls don’t like it when I join them since I’ll get injured or so they say.

So, I was lucky back then.

“You don’t know, Yuuto-kun, but I’ve been training too, you know?”

“Then let’s see. It’s a chance to get back at you for all those video game losses I’ve had. Just because I’m a guy doesn’t mean I’m inferior to girls in everything.”

“I know. I’m not expecting an easy win against you, Yuuto! I’ll give it my all!”

“Thanks.”

I couldn’t hide my joy at being able to play basketball with all my might. However, I should avoid letting her know about my basketball skills, as it might raise suspicions.

During the sports festival, I refrained from using the one-handed shooting technique common among men in my previous world and shot with both hands instead.

Will they just brush it off I wonder?

Besides, I’ve been slipping up a lot in the last few years. Would they even care about my basketball skills now?

Oh well.

In the schoolyard, just the two of us played a one-on-one game.

I thanked her in my heart and played my best.

A few days ago…

“Something that Yuu-kun would want to do?”

“Yes.”

Rina consulted Mana about something.

She wanted to know what would make Yuuto happy.

Yuuto is usually surrounded by girls, and he goes along with their whims (or rather, he enjoys being at their mercy). Rina was one of them, and Yuuto never asked her for favors or made any demands.

So, she decided to take the initiative and invite him to do something he’d enjoy.

“I think you should invite him to do some sports.”

“I thought so too.”

“The fact that he goes to Erina’s place means he’s been holding it in.”

“Why don’t you invite him, Mana-san ?”

“I’ve been inviting him a lot lately. You see, since he stopped the letter exchanges, Yuuto has more free time.”

Yuuto letter exchange lasted for four years before they finally stopped.

Those who were part of the letter exchange would want to cover their eyes. Despite being rejected, Rina kept making demands and took up Yuuto’s time, satisfied with the connection she had with him.

However, Yuuto never complained or showed any displeasure, so those who exchanged letters with him should be grateful rather than apologetic.

Of course, it goes without saying that Yuuto struggled to adjust to his new life after suddenly losing his pen pals.

Anyway…

Rina gathered information from Yanagida and guessed that Yuuto’s favorite sport was basketball.

So, after school, she invited him to play one-on-one, but…

“Rina, are you okay?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine!”

“Pushing yourself too hard isn’t good. Let’s take a break.”

Rina’s stamina didn’t hold out for long.

Rina suddenly remembered that during the new physical fitness test, Yuuto, who usually ranked low in most categories, consistently came in first or second in the endurance run, far ahead of everyone else, including Maria.

“Am I boring you?”

“Not at all.”

“But you don’t seem tired at all.”

“That’s thanks to my daily training.”

Seeing Yuuto smile without losing his breath, Rina quickly averted her eyes. Rina had once participated in a similar activity with Yanagida and Asuka, so she knew how challenging it was.

Therefore, she couldn’t say anything more.

“But I’m glad. I didn’t think I’d be good at basketball.”

“That’s because Yuuto-kun is prone to injuries.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Yuuto chuckled and skillfully started dribbling the ball with his fingertips.

Yuuto understood that he often made mistakes when he let his guard down. However, he didn’t like being restricted from doing something just because there was a possibility of getting injured, unless he was already hurt.

“It’s getting late. Let’s head home.”

Although he said this, Rina could tell that he wanted to play a little longer.

But safety comes first.

After seeing Yuuto off, Rina headed home.

On her way back, she was deep in thought.

Yuuto was exceptionally good at playing under the basket.

The area under the basket is where players come into the most contact with each other, but instead of avoiding it, Yuuto aggressively attacked there. Their bodies kept bumping into each other. How many times did their chests collide?

Basketball was a treasure trove of accidental fan service.

“That’s true. I’ll invite him next time too.”

“Kyaa!”

“Ara, no need to be that surprised.”

Yanagida had quietly appeared beside her.

Her stalking range wasn’t limited to the school grounds; it included the entire school. Naturally, the schoolyard was within her territory.

Her stalking had escalated, and she had even started taking videos in addition to photos.

“It’s not fair that only one person gets to have fun.”

“Then you should have joined us, Yanagida.”

“I played badminton with him the other day, so I let you have this.”

“That’s true.”

Asuka played table tennis, Maria played tennis, Sanae and Yuuna went running—they all invited Yuuto to play their respective sports.

“He really is quite something.”

“Well, I didn’t have much time to think about the whole match.”

“Yes, you were at your wits end after all. But in terms of ratio, Rina, you lost 8 to 2.”

“No way!”

“I thought he was agile during the sports festival, but after seeing this one-on-one game, I’m sure basketball is his best sport.”

However, Yanagi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Yuuto was good, but he seemed uncomfortable playing. His two-handed shooting seemed awkward and unnatural.

The same was true for his layup shots.

(Maybe he’s better at shooting with one hand.)

With this thought in mind, she later reported to Erina, who immediately added basketball to Yuuto’s training regimen.