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[color=007fff][center][b]Mentions:[/b] [@Darcs][/center][/color]

[right][color=007fff][sub][b]Hyakusawa Academy Gymnasium
April 19th, 2019
8:22 AM[/b][/sub][/color][/right]

[color=darkgray][color=white][i][b]*SWISH*[/b][/i][/color]

It was all coming that easy this morning. Maybe it was the overcast skies blocking any pesky sunlight from messing up her shots. Maybe it was the fact that it's a lot easier to shoot when there isn't a hand in your face. Maybe it was that second glass of imported orange juice. You know, the fancy kind from Florida. Whatever it was, every shot that Shiori Hasegawa took this morning was finding the bottom of the net. It's a lot more fun rebounding the ball when its waiting near the bottom of the basket instead of bouncing every which way. Besides, it's not like crashing the boards was hard when there's a solid half-foot height advantage. That's not the part of her game Shiori needed to work on.

Coach Tabuse was clear that due to the changing nature of how basketball was played, Shiori was going to need a solid outside-the-arc game to compete with some of the other prized recruits. The June showcase was looming ever large, and if she was going to follow in her father's footsteps and make it big in America, the girl needed to put in a good showing. If today was any indication, the power forwards and centers were going to have a very tough time dealing with her at the top of the key. It felt good to be hitting on all cylinders like this.

As a phone started playing the classical strains of "Hey DJ!" by Heartsdales from depths of Shiori's backpack, filling the empty gym with upbeat hip-pop sounds, she halted her shot in mid-flow and held onto the ball. Wiping a few beads of sweat that escaped from under her headband, she walked over to her bag and saw her preset alarm reminding her that playtime was over and that class would be underway soon enough. There would be enough time to grab a quick shower and change into her uniform before homeroom.

[color=007fff]"Sigh, maybe I can find someone else to crib notes off of so I can sleep,"[/color] she bemoaned to no one in particular as she shut the alarm down and tossed the phone back in her bag. Shiori took one last look at the basket, now 25 feet away from the corner three area where she had set her gear down. Quickly bringing the ball up for one final shot, she yelled, [color=007fff]"KOBE!"[/color] as she fired with the same reckless abandon the Lakers star once did. Unlike his later years though, Shiori's shot was again on the mark, this time with a friendly bounce off the rim before falling in. [color=007fff]"Yeah, that's right,"[/color] she affirmed as she released her hair from the scrunchie that was holding it back, the makeshift bun collapsing as her jet-black hair fell back towards the floor before stopping at the small of her back. With a heavy sigh, she headed over to retrieve the ball and begin the arduous process of getting ready for class.[/color]

[hr]

[right][color=007fff][sub][b]Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:14 PM[/b][/sub][/color][/right]

[color=darkgray]Arduous was definitely a more appropriate word for the way class was going. Any adrenaline that was built up from such a dominant performance in the gym earlier was quickly evaporated as hazes of physics equations and algebra started to cloud Shiori's mind. It was enough to make a girl go cross-eyed with just how much stuff was being thrown at students this late in the semester. [color=007fff][i]Ugh, why do I need any of this? Some random gonna come up to me and ask for my autograph in the form of solving for x? This is useless.[/i][/color] By the time she reached her final class of the day, the basketball star was ready to stuff all her books into the nearest incinerator.

The sweet sounds of freedom couldn't come any sooner as the alarm bell alerted everyone to another school day being in the books. [i][color=007fff]"Freaking finally! Had enough of this...[/color][/i] Shiori was ready to bolt before Miss Sawa decided to be a total bitch about things.

[color=orange][b]"The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do."[/b][/color] 

[color=007fff][i]Really? Freaking really? I know the principal gets off on your BDSM shit, but I don't need it from you, ya gray-haired old crone.[/i][/color] Shiori momentarily paused her escape efforts as the old lady power-tripped. The Hasegawas may have been in Nashiro for less than a year, but it didn't take long for Miss Sawa to reach the top of Shiori's shitlist.

[color=orange][b]"Your essays and power points on The Tale of Genji are due in one week, and expect pop quizzes. You may leave."[/b][/color]

[color=007fff][i]About time![/i][/color] Shiori gave no regard to the required power points and essays. There were enough Cliff Notes versions of the Tale of Genji floating around that a C-level report could be patched together at some point. The quizzes would be terrible, but whatever. As stated, no regard for them! It was time to leave, and Shiori made sure to let everyone know that fact. As she gathered up her stuff, she gave her hair the slightest bit of flick, as if to let Miss Sawa know just how done she was with everything she had to say. She strutted out of the classroom ready to head onto other, more stimulating projects.

As the athlete headed out into the hallway, she tried to puzzle out just what those projects were. [color=007fff][i]I did put in a good shootaround today, but it would be nice to at least have a little competition. I wonder if Sugiyama's free for some one on one? ...Nah, I'd kick her ass way too easy. Kuriyama, maybe?[/i][/color] The tall woman came to a stop as she tried to think of who she could hit up for a solid practice.

Coming to a stop was a mistake though. At least for the person behind Shiori, who felt a bump hit her from behind. She looked around... and then down, and saw the culprit. A very cute culprit, but a culprit. It was someone Shiori recognized from class. The new girl who came in a couple months ago. The one a lot of people thought was an American plant meant to spy on the students. Shiori never believed that. If anyone was the plant, it was Miss Sawa. Probably heading to the army base now to try and get some action. Add traitor to the list of her offenses.

Either way, as Shiori glanced at the girl, she finally got a good look at her. It was strange that she never noticed the way her eyes played off that light-brown skin of hers. Like they held a thousand secrets, but the glint told you how to unlock them. It definitely added to mysterious visage she created for herself. Again, it was still cute. Shiori wasn't the type to pay a lot of people in her class any mind. A lot of her friends were still back in Sapporo. She was essentially a mercenary in Nashiro. But her, she had her curiosity.

All that being said, she did bump into her backside.

Shiori was going to ask if she needed glasses, but that was before the girl's piercing eyes rolled up and she started to fall backwards. Years on the court had honed Shiori's reflexes to the point where she was able to swoop down and catch the girl before she received a concussion from the floor. [color=007fff]"Hey!"[/color] she exclaimed as the girl appeared to be somewhat limp in her arms. [color=007fff]"Hey, you all right? I know my butt isn't strong enough to knock people out! Can you hear me? Do you need some sugar or something? I have a power bar. Talk to me, girl!"[/color][/color]