Ome Quartet of Snow Country

Chapter 17 After School

On the first day of school, time flies by.

The evening shift was over, looking at the words left on the blackboard, Naruse turned the eraser in his hand and tapped on the table lightly.

"Is it a private reading club?"

Choose your favorite book, read it to the guests in a one-on-one, face-to-face format, and share the joy of acquiring knowledge and insights. This is the cultural festival project decided by the final vote of Class C of the year.

Although it is a little out of the way, it seems that because it is relatively simple to implement, or because the word "private" firmly grasps the hearts of adolescent boys and girls, once this proposal is made, other options are immediately eclipsed.

The project was decided, and the executive committee member of the cultural festival who was in charge of this matter was elected. Today's evening class meeting will end here, and the rest will be gradually determined later, such as the candidates for the "scholar".

"If there are not many people who volunteer, then you can only choose by voting."

"No, no, this kind of thing where you can freely share your own sex...to share your hobbies, there will definitely be many people signing up."

The conversation between the two boys not far away fell into Naruse's ears, and he smiled, thinking that this might be what most people thought.

After packing up, everyone in the classroom has almost left, and the two students on duty are discussing in front of the cleaning cabinet and preparing to clean it.

"Chunhai." Shangzi was going to the department of the handicraft club, and came to ask him about his plans.

It's a new arrival, and he has nowhere to go in Tsugo right now, and it's too early to go home, Naruse is also a little embarrassed.

"Would you like to come to the handicraft club?" Shangzi suggested.

"Won't it bother you?"

Naruse also knew that they were busy preparing exhibits for the cultural festival, so they probably didn't have time to pay attention to him.

"If you just look at it, it's not a disturbance."

Naruse thought for a while, "I want to wander around the school first, and I'll go find you later."

Shangzi nodded, told him the location of the department, and then left first.

Coming to the corridor, Naruse looked at the atrium below, and suddenly a familiar voice came from beside him.

"'Handsome transfer student from Class C', was he left out after school?"

When he turned his head, Mori saw Kazuyo holding his glasses and looking at him, "Sure enough, the uniform in Tokyo looks better."

"It should be said that the uniforms of private high schools are more beautiful, after all, the price is not cheap."

Senjian raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

Seeing that she was empty-handed and without a bag, Naruse asked, "Is Morimi still planning to go back?"

After entering high school, Mori didn't join any clubs, and often went home after school, which he knew from the previous chats.

However, she is still the library committee member of Class E, and occasionally has to go to the school library on duty.

"Well...it's okay to go back too early, I'm going to read some books at school." Morimi said, a little more hesitant than usual.

Naruse glanced towards Class E, the two girls were poking their heads at the back door, met his gaze, and flinched back.

"They sent you here?"

"What?" Sen saw turning around.

"No, it's nothing." Naruse realized that he had lost his mind, "It turns out that you really came to laugh at me."

Morimi smiled slightly, and pushed his glasses again: "I just happened to see Naruse standing here in a daze. Where's Shangzi?"

"Let's go to the department first."

"Really. That's it, I'm going back to the classroom."

She turned and returned to the classroom, Naruse didn't continue to stand still, and went downstairs from the other side of the corridor.

After a while, the two girls from Class E poked their heads out again.

"Ah, the handsome transfer student from Class C is gone..."

"it's a pity."

In the classroom, Hai Xing squinted at the two people at the back door, then at Morimi who was sitting by the window with his chin propped up, looking idly, and then at the test paper full of mistakes on the desk in front of him, feeling bored in his heart.

"Why do make-up exams exist in the world..."

When school is over, wandering around the school wearing conspicuous uniforms of other schools still attracts a lot of attention.

Strolling in the atrium for a while, seeing more and more people looking towards him, Naruse turned around and walked towards the gymnasium.

Several indoor sports clubs occupied a part of the venue, training independently without disturbing each other.

boom!boom!
The basketball keeps rising and falling, slapping the floor fiercely, and following the dribbler shuttles left and right, breaking through the encirclement, getting closer and closer to his final destination.

boom!
The touchdown basketball bounces back into the dribbler's hands and is thrown out.

The short flight left an arc that ended abruptly, and the basketball hit the backboard and fell into the net without incident.

Hikaru Takikawa let out a breath, turned around and clapped hands with the two teammates beside him, with a smile on his face.

The basketball bounced a few times before returning to the player's hands, and the next round of competition began again.

"what?"

Hikaru Takikawa suddenly stopped, and the ball just passed to his hand was snatched away in the next second.

"Light!" Another team member nearby immediately issued a reminder, "Don't be in a daze!"

"Feel sorry."

Hikaru Takikawa raised his hand, then left the venue, and greeted the side: "Si Dao, come and replace me."

"Ah good……"

Another girl in a basketball uniform hurried onto the court, but the rhythm had been interrupted, and the flying basketball was gently caught, and no one cared about it at this time.

"Spring Sea."

Under the watchful eyes of the basketball players, Hikaru Takikawa walked to the sidelines, wiped his sweat, and greeted Naruse, "Come to see me?"

"Stroll around casually. It seems to disturb your training?"

"It doesn't matter." Hikaru Takikawa smiled, "There is no competition recently, it's just ordinary daily training."

"Speaking of competitions, October will be Autumn National Stadium, right? Is this year's junior women's team a 47-team system or a [-]-team system?" Naruse asked.

"Does Chunhai understand this too?"

She was a little surprised, and then shook her head, "This year is a 47-team system, but it has nothing to do with us. The coaches in charge of selection will not focus on this."

"is it?"

Naruse's understanding of this kind of sports event is basically from comics, and he only knows superficially, "Didn't you just reach the semi-finals of the national competition last year? There should be a lot of people paying attention to you."

"Only champions are remembered."

Hikaru Takikawa looked at him, "For me, it's actually a sad thing to stop at the semi-finals, yet Harumi just mentioned it so casually."

"Sorry." Naruse apologized immediately.

"Hahaha, just kidding."

She laughed, and then said: "Speaking of last year's competition, after losing that game, the coach at that time was too much, and actually said that it was my responsibility to stop the semi-finals."

"...Really?" The middle school coach in reality was much colder than what Naruse saw in the manga.

"He said, 'It's Takigawa's limit to take these kids to the Final Four.'"

"Huh? Wait a minute..."

"I always feel that I lack the most crucial bit of motivation, the coach said so."

Naruse, who was about to say something, fell silent again.

Because of Hikaru Takikawa, their team, whose overall strength may not match, reached the semi-finals of the national competition;
Also because she "lacks the most critical bit of motivation", their limit can only stop at the semi-finals.

"The coach probably wants to encourage Hikaru." Naruse said, "The limit in third year is the top four in the country. In high school, maybe you can reach the finals."

Hikaru Takikawa smiled, "Basketball is not a sport for one person. Those teammates from last year are all gone now."

"Is none of them in Tsudaka?" Naruse asked.

"Yes."

She nodded, "Except for me, all the other players were poached by the famous basketball schools in the county."

He was even more surprised, "Did no one invite Guang?"

"Yes. But those schools are not in Tsumae, and they have to live in student dormitories after they go there. When I thought that I would not be able to live at home for three years in high school, I refused all of them." Takikawa Hikaru said of course.

"..."

Naruse probably understood what the bit of drive she lacked was.

"Guang, *do you like basketball?"

Takikawa looked at him for a while.

"Haruko?"

"..."

After chatting with Hikaru Takikawa, she returned to the court to continue training, and Naruse stayed for a while before leaving the gym.

Like most clubs, the activity room of the handicraft club is also in the annex building, and Shangzi told him that the location is on the second floor.

"Handcraft club..."

While searching, Naruse scanned the house number and slowed down.

Two girls with blue ties came up from behind, shaking the water drops on their hands, talking in a low voice.

"...Looking at what Ritsuko means, it seems that she is going to take over as the minister after she reaches the third grade."

"Wow, I can't take it."

"Anyway, according to the usual practice, we basically have to retire. Besides, there is no one more reliable than her in the first grade."

"Who knows if she is really reliable, always smiling, really hypocritical. Maybe she has a dark heart... After all, her biological parents died long ago."

Naruse stopped and turned to look back.

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*"Do you like basketball?": Haruko Akagi from "Slam Dunk".

(End of this chapter)