The sun was blazing during my lunch break.
Because of their promise to Yoko, Kawamoto Kazuki and Hanamichi Sakuragi boarded the train to Takezono.
After getting off the tram, the two walked together towards Takezono High School.
Sakuragi was still trying to organize his thoughts, thinking about how to persuade that stubborn Oda.
Kawamoto walked on in silence, looking down at the portion of the translated manuscript of "The Ode to Gallantry" in his hands.
"Brother Kawamoto, would you like to say a few words later?"
Sakuragi asked tentatively.
"It depends."
Kawamoto's answer was brief.
The players at Takezono Basketball Gymnasium are practicing half-court offense and defense.
But the pace was noticeably slow, more like they were running tactical maneuvers.
Tatsumasa Oda is on the court, and he's trying to make a simple layup on the right side.
At the moment of initiation, his right foot unconsciously sluggishly slowed down, preventing him from gaining speed.
When he jumped, he clearly didn't dare to push off the ground with his right foot.
He mainly relied on his left leg for power, which resulted in insufficient jump height and a somewhat distorted layup motion.
The ball bounced twice on the rim before barely rolling in.
On the sidelines, Yoko bit her lip tightly, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her eyes filled with worry.
Several teammates seemed to notice that Oda wasn't in good form today, but no one dared to ask any questions.
Seeing Sakuragi and Kawamoto appear at the door, Oda frowned, but still walked over.
" Sakuragi, what are you doing here?"
Yoko rushed forward as if she had seen a savior.
" Sakuragi -kun, Kawamoto- kun, you've arrived----"
Yoko's voice sounded somewhat urgent.
" Oda, want to go outside and talk?"
Sakuragi got straight to the point and went out first.
Oda and Yoko exchanged a glance and followed.
In an empty open space, Sakuragi pointed at Oda's leg. "Your foot is clearly injured, don't push yourself anymore. You can't play in the next game against Kainan."
Oda's face darkened, and she glanced at Yoko, clearly blaming her for revealing the information.
He forced himself to stand up straight, his tone stiff. "It's just a minor injury, it won't affect the match. My affairs are none of your concern."
" Oda!"
Yoko stamped her foot anxiously. "The doctor said it's very serious. If you continue like this, your leg will—"
I told you I'm fine!
Oda interrupted her, his tone carrying an unyielding stubbornness.
"It wasn't easy for Takezono to make it to the quarterfinals, I can't fall at a time like this. So what if Shinichi Maki? Even if it costs me my leg, I'll fight Kainan to the very end!"
"This is my realization!"
"You—you're absolutely unreasonable!"
Sakuragi was furious at his stubbornness.
Yoko was both angry and anxious, tears welling in her eyes. She turned to Kawamoto pleadingly, " Kawamoto, please talk to him!"
The situation reached a stalemate for a moment.
Oda's stubbornness, Yoko's helplessness, and Sakuragi's resentment intertwine.
At this moment, Kawamoto Kazuki, who had been silently observing, took two steps forward.
His gaze swept over Oda's unnatural posture, and then he said, "So your resolve is to gamble with potentially permanent sports injuries in a match that's likely to end in a crushing defeat?"
Oda, his neck stiff, retorted, "Yes! This is my basketball! My dream! It's something you people can't understand!"
"Dream?"
Kawamoto tilted his head slightly, a gesture that made him appear to be deep in thought.
"A dream worth ruining your legs for a fight with Shinichi Maki?"
"Certainly!"
Oda practically yelled, "A man's dream is to give everything!"
"Very good."
Kawamoto nodded, a surprisingly approving expression on his face. "It's truly rare to have this kind of awareness."
Sakuragi and Yoko were both stunned, looking at Kawamoto with confusion.
Kawamoto continued in a flat tone, "Since you're so aware of this, I think you should broaden your thinking a bit more."
"Open it a little?"
Oda was a little confused.
"Hmm." Kawamoto's eyes deepened, as if he were sketching a grand blueprint.
"You're only thinking about the possibility of losing a leg and having to say goodbye to basketball. That's a narrow-minded view."
"Is your perspective too narrow?"
Have you ever thought about it?
Kawamoto's tone carried a seductive calmness.
"What if this competition really causes irreversible damage to your leg, even requiring more serious intervention—like amputation?"
Amputation?!
Oda, Sakuragi, Yoko all lost their voices at the same time.
Oda's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"Yes, amputation."
Kawamoto repeated calmly.
"And then spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair."
"Are you... are you crazy?"
Oda's voice trembled.
"I'm not crazy."
"I'm just helping you carry your awareness through to the end and elevate your dreams."
Didn't you say a man's dream is worth sacrificing everything for?
"What is the cost of one leg compared to the future of wheelchair basketball in Japan?"
"The future of Japan basketball?"
Oda's voice trembled.
How does my leg have to do with the future of Japan basketball?
Wait, wheelchair basketball?
"That's right, it's the Paralympic Games."
Kawamoto spoke clearly, "Basketball for able-bodied Japan people faces significant challenges internationally, with Olympic medals remaining a distant dream. But what about wheelchair basketball?"
"That's a different track, a field that requires more perseverance and new skills."
He took a step forward, approaching Oda, whose face was deathly pale, his voice low and clear.
"Imagine you, Tatsumasa Oda, the former ace of the Takezono High School basketball team, who sacrificed a leg for your dream. Then, with your extraordinary basketball talent and iron will, you switch to wheelchair basketball."
"You can develop entirely new offensive strategies, such as performing incredible changes of direction, sudden stops, or even dunks while in a wheelchair."
"You will become a legend, a beacon for all disabled athletes, and a symbol of the Japan sporting spirit."
"The media will scramble to report on you; you'll be known as the wheelchair warrior."
"Your story will inspire countless people. You will lead the Japan wheelchair basketball team to the podium at the Paralympics, achieving Japan's first-ever Olympic victory in basketball."
"Isn't this honor, this dream, far greater and more glorious than your current struggle with a high school competition?"
Kawamoto's words, like a chilling incantation, painted a future that was both incredibly glorious and terrifying.
The earnest expression on his face made it seem as if he were truly pointing out a shortcut to greatness to a lost sheep.
Oda was completely stunned, his whole body covered in cold sweat, and his lips trembling.
He looked at Kawamoto as if he were looking at a demon who had crawled out of hell to sell dreams.
An image of himself practicing in an empty gymnasium, sitting in a wheelchair, uncontrollably flashed through his mind.
That was completely different from his passionate basketball dream; it was nothing but endless coldness and despair.
No—no—I—
Oda was rambling incoherently and instinctively stepped back.
His injured right leg buckled and he almost fell, but Sakuragi caught him in time.
"What's wrong?"
Kawamoto frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled. "Isn't this what you wanted? To give everything for your dream. I'm just helping you to describe everything in more detail and the possible rewards."
"If you can't even handle this possibility of sublimation, then your so-called enlightenment is far too cheap."
That's ridiculous.
"I—I don't want to—"
Oda shook his head violently, his face ashen white. His previous stubbornness and obstinacy vanished, leaving only immense fear.
"I don't want an amputation! I don't want a wheelchair! I—I need to go to the hospital! Right now! Does anyone know Shinichi Maki? The match against Kainan —I'm not playing! Whoever wants to play can play!"
He practically broke free from Sakuragi's support and ran towards the school gate in a near panic, as if a demon were chasing him.
" Oda!"
Yoko exclaimed in surprise, glanced at Kawamoto and Sakuragi with a complicated expression, and turned to chase after them.
Hanamichi Sakuragi stared wide-eyed at Oda's retreating figure, then at the still-calm Kawamoto Kazuki beside him, before finally managing to stammer, "Kawamoto- Kawamoto- san—what you just said—was that really scary?"
Kawamoto withdrew his gaze, as if the astonishing wheelchair-bound warrior plan he had just spoken had not come from him.
Is it scary?
As he turned to leave, he calmly said to Sakuragi, "I simply took his cheap, hot-blooded rhetoric of sacrificing everything for a dream to its extreme and gave it a bright future."
"He himself couldn't accept the result of this logical deduction, which means that deep down he knew it was nonsense."
The two walked out of the Takezono campus.
The afternoon sun was still scorching.
"To deal with this kind of person... you can't advise him to give up. You have to follow his hypocritical, passionate logic, push him to the edge of a cliff that he himself dares not look at, let him look down on his own, feel the fear, and back down on his own."
"From this perspective, he lacks both the awareness and responsibility to truly dedicate everything to his dreams, and he is neither a considerate person to his family and friends nor someone who knows how to cherish himself."
"He's just a naive kid who's indulging in self-pity and tragic role-playing, and hasn't been beaten down by reality yet."
"The most effective way is to provide maximum support to shatter his weakest facade."
There was one more thing Kawamoto didn't say.
Through this kind of persuasion, Yoko should be able to see Oda's vacillating pattern of persisting in his dreams and then giving up.
They'll probably regret their choice.
Of course, if Oda really fights so hard for his dream, he might ruin his basketball career for a meaningless game.
Then let's destroy it.
Compared to Sakuragi, he didn't care at all about Oda's life or death.
Sakuragi listened, seemingly understanding but not quite.
But looking at Kawamoto's calm profile, a chill inexplicably rose in my heart.
He suddenly realized that although Kawamoto on the basketball court was terrifyingly strong.
But off the court, his ability to calmly analyze people's hearts and control situations is perhaps even more unfathomable.
"What about Yoko over there—" Sakuragi was still a little worried.
"The problem is solved, isn't it?"
Kawamoto glanced at him.
" Oda will get treatment for his injury, and at least in the short term, he won't be jeopardizing his basketball career."
"What Yoko thinks is her business. You don't need to, and shouldn't, be responsible for it."