Chapter 2 You Talk So Much
Kanon, being tactful, reached out and took a yen note: "Thank you."
Rukawa Kaede looked indifferent as he put the remaining money into his backpack, yawned, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Kanon stared at his school uniform for a while. It was Shohoku High School, the same school as Sakuragi Hanamichi.
She cautioned, "Young man, be careful when you ride your bike. It's so dangerous to fall asleep! You might not be so lucky every time you hit a pedestrian..."
The other person glanced at me coldly, and a completely emotionless voice came through, "...Nonsense."
Hanon immediately shut up, realizing she had been meddling and annoying. She instinctively wanted to say "goodbye," but quickly swallowed the words back.
She dragged her suitcase and continued walking towards Sakuragi's house.
Rukawa rubbed his sleepy, beady eyes, stepped on the pedals, and sped off towards home.
Hanon found her target in the densely packed communal housing, reached out her fingertips to touch the "Sakuragi Residence" sign, then put her suitcase down beside it, sat by the hallway, and rested her chin on her hand, letting her mind wander.
For ordinary people, death is the end.
As for Hanon, after becoming a basketball for a hundred years, she "came back to life" in her own body, and was also given an extra system.
The system tells Hanon that, in the world of the comic, she is just an unnamed passerby.
After fulfilling her mission as a passerby, she became a round basketball!
It's heartbreaking to think about. He only lived as a human for 16 years, but he's been a ball player for hundreds of years.
Because of the protagonist's obsession, the system gave her the chance to "come back to life." To continue living in human form, she must fulfill the protagonist's goal of dominating the country.
Hanon took out her tactics book and studied it carefully.
Since we're alive...
Live life to the fullest!
She doesn't want to live in someone else's story; she wants to control her own pace and live the life she desires.
The sky was as dark as ink, without a single star.
Sakuragi kicked pebbles listlessly.
Today, he not only missed the basketball team's training, but also skipped class and wandered around all afternoon.
He had no idea how to get through the days, so he just drifted along aimlessly.
That damned fox!
No matter what he does, he always manages to catch Haruko's and everyone else's attention!
He's the only one foolishly doing basic drills on the sidelines—it's outrageous! He's never going to the basketball club again! It's utterly boring!
"Chirp..." Another pebble.
Huayin looked up when she heard the sound.
Under the streetlights, the person stood languidly, with a pair of bright eyes beneath deep-set brows, and a quirky red pompadour hairstyle that made him appear unrestrained and dissolute.
Sakuragi opened his mouth in astonishment, his body seemingly frozen in place.
As Hanon walked over step by step, the lively and bright little girl gradually merged with the tall figure in front of her.
Hana's smile was exceptionally bright. "Hana! I'm back!"
[Manga protagonist appears: Sakuragi Hanamichi]
[Triggering part of the plot: ]
A mechanical voice echoed in Hanon's mind, and comic book images played out one by one in her head.
Sakuragi Hanamichi —
Kaine's younger brother.
When she was 11 years old, her parents divorced, and Kanon went to live in the United States with her mother.
After two lifetimes, the siblings finally met again.
Sakuragi froze, his eyes red-rimmed, and turned his head away from her.
Seeing that he seemed somewhat resistant, Hana released her hand, the touch of his clothes still lingering on her fingertips.
“…Sakuragi Hanamichi.” The murmur that choked in his throat eventually turned into the salty sea breeze of Yokohama Port.
The little boy who once held her and cried, refusing to let her leave, is now repeatedly grinding the wild grass sprouting from the ground with the tip of his shoe.
Suddenly, a weight pressed down on the suitcase handle!
Hana turned her head and saw the boy roughly tearing off the luggage tags.
The American Airlines sticker had curled up into a callus in his palm.
The streetlights illuminated a suspicious flush on the tip of his ear.
Huayin lowered her eyes and smiled.
—Awkward and weird!
The house doesn't have many necessities, but they are all neatly arranged, and the surroundings are clean and tidy, showing that the owner is very diligent.
Sakuragi kept shuffling his toes along the ground, thinking, "The spare key... is still in the same old place..."
"Okay." Hana's fingertips brushed against the lucky cat piggy bank in the entryway. "If you're waiting outside..."
She turned her head, her eyes crinkling: "As soon as you come back... I can see the handsome face of the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
Sakuragi's lips curled into a wide grin, then he suppressed it. "Enough talk!...Move your suitcase into the room?"
She always had a sweet tongue and often made her parents very happy.
Hana suddenly grabbed his sleeve, which was rolled up to his elbow: "Wait."
She yanked open her suitcase, revealing a dazzling array of colorful sports protective gear.
"This, this is..." Sakuragi lifted the black leggings with two fingers, the elastic band of the fabric slapping against the back of his hand.
"Sports leggings".
"What's it for?"
"Keep the little chick in check, so he doesn't play basketball carelessly!"
Sakuragi flung his pants three meters away like a madman, but when he caught a glimpse of the handwritten "anti-abrasion design" on the packaging, he secretly used his toes to pull the fabric back to his side.
Hanon: "There are socks too."
As the cotton socks bearing the Rockets logo piled up like a small mountain, the boy stared blankly at his cracked heels.
Hana suddenly grabbed his reddened ankle.
"Wearing socks can protect your Achilles tendon."
She rolled up a cotton sock into a sushi shape and put it on him, "like putting armor on a red-haired monkey~"
"Hey!" Sakuragi reflexively pulled his foot back, and when he leaned back, the back of his head almost hit the wall.
Hua Yin ruffled his pompadour. "You need to get your hair cut."
She picked up her headband and shook it: "Want to try it?"
"No way!" The boy covered his head and ran to the other end. "Headbutt attacks lose 27.3% of their power!"
In life, some things can only be solved by taking action, making you feel like a barbarian.
I don't know why those people were so stupid, running right into the line of fire for no reason... Actually, he also hoped to get along amicably!
Hana nodded, reminisced for a moment, and smiled, "Your buzz cut when you were little was quite cute."
Her smile was infectious, and Sakuragi started grinning like an idiot.
"Want to try on the clothes?"
Hanon took one of the sets and handed it to him.
"…oh."
Sakuragi took the clothes back to his room, and a few seconds later, he walked out of the room with an upright posture.
A simple and clean red letter print T-shirt, paired with athletic shorts and black and red basketball shoes, gives off a strong Japanese anime boy vibe.
Hanon didn't hold back her praise, "Wow, my brother is so handsome!"
Sakuragi met her gaze, blushed, and turned his head away. "Really? Hahaha..."
"These clothes are all sets, so you can just take the whole set when you want to wear them."
Sakuragi said hesitantly, "Okay... thank you..."
My childhood bedroom remains exactly as it was when I left.
The shadow of the setting sun was imprinted on the family photo, and Hana noticed that the edges of the frame had a sheen from years of wear and tear.
"It's not like I clean every day!" Sakuragi suddenly explained to the air, "It's definitely not because someone has too many broken dolls in their room!"
Suddenly, the gauze curtains were blown up by the wind, carrying a few cherry blossom petals that flew towards the faded Teru Teru Bozu doll on the bedside table—a "trophy" that Sakuragi had won in a fight at elementary school.
"The genes for a good husband and father are truly hereditary." Hana deliberately used her childhood nickname, "Hana-chan will definitely be even better than her dad in the future..."
"So noisy!" His face was redder than the red hair on his head.
The family consists of four people. Hanon and her mother are the ones who do nothing at home, while Sakuragi has been helping his father with housework since he was a child.
Have you had dinner yet?
Sakuragi glanced at her furtively, then mumbled, "Hmm..."
"Gurgle—"
Sakuragi's face flushed bright red instantly, and he covered his stomach with his hand.
Hanon pretended not to see the convenience store rice ball wrapper sticking out of his jeans pocket.
"I heard there's a ramen shop near the entrance of Shohoku that tastes like the ocean?" She jingled her keychain. "If you show me the way, I'll treat you to a limited-edition char siu."
Sakuragi scratched his head. "Okay, fine."
Under the seventh utility pole at the railway crossing, Sakuragi's army has assembled!
Gao Gong was more alert than usual, rushing ahead and shouting, "Hurry up! The place is almost full of guests!"
Da Nan followed leisurely behind, saying, "What's the rush, Gao Gong! Honestly!"
"It's my treat today, eat whatever you want, hehehe!" Sakuragi grinned and put his arm around Takamiya's shoulder. "Hey Takamiya, have you gained weight again?"
"I can see that too! This guy must have eaten a lot of good stuff behind our backs!" Noma and Oonan, not wanting to miss out on trouble, added fuel to the fire.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't talk nonsense! I didn't shortchange anyone! Even those little potato chips, I've already divided them equally, one for each person!"
Wow, your skin is as thick as your belly! You really have a whole sheet of skin for every person!
"Hey, no way!"
The group found themselves engulfed in a fierce and chaotic battle.
Kanon and Yohei followed lazily behind, watching the four of them bickering and making noise with a smile.
To say that the two siblings became a group of six, we have to thank Sakuragi's insatiable desire to share. He couldn't wait for his good brother to meet his family, and he even excitedly shouted that he would treat them to a meal.
The Sakuragi Army was very accommodating, arriving immediately upon receiving a phone call.
Upon entering the ramen shop, the owner poked his head out, beaming with a warm smile, and greeted us, "Welcome, guests!"
He looked her up and down. "Oh, it's Sakuragi... You look very energetic today..."
Sakuragi was a regular customer at the shop, and he seemed much more relaxed after entering, sporting his signature goofy grin.
"Six bowls of special tonkotsu! And the char siu will be piled up like Mount Fuji!" Sakuragi drew an arrogant arc with his thumb across his chest.
Gao Gong's massive body deftly wedged itself into the gap between the counter: "Three bowls! No, five bowls!"
The shop owner's face turned pale, then red. "You haven't paid for what you ate yet?!"
Sakuragi grinned, "It's okay, put it on my tab! Put theirs on my tab too! It's on me today!"
"Including last month's oden..." The boss's rambling suddenly stopped.
Under the dim, steamy light, a banknote is handed out from a wrist.
Kanon walked to the front desk: "Excuse me, I'm Sakuragi Hanamichi's older sister, I'll pay."
Only then did the boss notice the girl behind Sakuragi.
"Eh? Sakuragi's older sister?!"
The boss's eyes widened, and his voice rose several decibels.
—Beautiful, tall, and with a striking presence!
Is she Sakuragi's older sister?
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