Extra Chapter – Kensuke's Memories

The afternoon sun illuminated the mat, sweat dripping down my face.

I stood with a wooden sword in my hands. I raised it until my hands were near the back of my head. Then I brought the sword forward with a clean strike. I repeated the same movement several times.

While my body focused on the movement, my mind traveled to another place. A distant place. Voices from the past echoed in my mind.

"I will be the strongest."

This desire has always been in my mind, but when did it begin?

My mind traveled back to C.L. Academy when I was a student there. My first day at school was marked by a popular and charismatic teacher who introduced me to the school, I remember he was wearing a tank top and shorts, it was an unusual outfit for a teacher, only his face I don't really remember, it was so long ago.

I was curious why the school had those acronyms as part of its name, and he explained the whole history of the school to me. We stood in front of a statue of a man. He explained that the academy was founded with his money.

"Many different athletes have passed through here; many have become famous. Whatever your goal. With a lot of dedication, you can be one of them. "

His explanation was full of pride and happiness, but I didn't share the same desire. I was more curious about the other rooms in the school.

I tried to look at places other than him or the statue, and he stepped in front of me and asked, "So, have you thought about what sport you're going to do?"

"No, I didn't even think I had to choose, can I choose later?"

"Unfortunately, you have to choose one to get into the school." The man said with a frown.

Faced with this massive number of sports, I was confused at first. But one came to my mind. One that my father was a big fan of and we used to watch together.

"I think basketball, I've never played but I've always been interested."

The teacher's worried expression soon faded and gave way to a broad smile. "Basketball it is, then."

It was fun to watch any sport, but it was never my thing to play. I was too skinny and couldn't run very far.

The teacher kept encouraging me. He said that as long as I worked hard, I could achieve my dreams. All I had to do was become a strong athlete.

School wasn't that difficult; I didn't know if it was a characteristic or if it was because I liked to study. In any case, my first semester was marked by good grades. My favorite class was biology. I loved learning about different kinds of animals, plants, and other living things and their strange behaviors.

When I was a kid, I used to hunt insects. I used to show Saya my collection, but unfortunately, she was disgusted. I missed her, the conversations, listening to her sing and the support she gave me.

Even though I got good grades, no one cared about my performance. The teachers and other students didn't seem to care about the grades they got.

During basketball practice, I was made very welcome. They explained the rules and put me through my paces. I can say the same thing about when we went to play in the novice championship.

Every year at the beginning of the year, they hold this championship to test the level of the newcomers. I didn't know it, but this test would define many more aspects of my life in school than I had imagined.

During the games, I began to make mistake after mistake. Wrong passes. Bad shots. Bad defenses. It was expected. I was a rookie. It all added up until we lost every game I was on the team.

After the championship, the treatment changed. Before, they taught me the rules slowly, they were patient with me. Now they wouldn't even look me in the face.

And not just the people on my team, they treated me practically the same way. They scribbled all kinds of curses on my desk.

"Loser, loser, lazy, slow, bad, garbage, profiteer."

As if I had to be born good. I did my best in the game. I really did my best. Why should I be called things like lazy?

Even the teachers went from indifferent treatment to disgust. I hoped that at least the school staff would treat me well.

Even if I got good grades. Even if I was nice to everyone. No one liked me. No one liked anything I did. No one liked who I was.

The people who got the best treatment were the people on the teams that won the championship. They were treated like stars. Even if they got bad grades or misbehaved.

The days went by where I was abused all day long. Whether verbally or physically. And these people were never punished for what they did. It was like it was okay to do that to someone who was doing badly in sports.

If I said I didn't think about crying or giving up. I'd be lying. There were several times when my mind wandered to dark places. What kept me going was the desire to see Saya again.

One day, as I was walking to recess, I saw a black-haired girl being bullied by a group of girls. I thought I'd ignore it; I had enough problems already. But something inside me acted without thinking, maybe because I was in the same situation. I saved myself.

I stepped in to protect them.

"If you want to hit someone, hit me."

"It's the basketball wimp." Said one of them.

The girls laughed as they slapped my back and I got several kicks, I kept smiling while the girl in front of me was horrified. When they'd had enough, they left.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked.

I sat down next to her, took a deep breath and asked, changing the subject. "What's your name?"

"Melody." She said a little shyly.

"Mine is Kensuke." I said, pointing my finger at my chest while pretending to be strong, and she laughed slightly.

Seeing her frightened face turn into a beautiful smile made me happy. No one deserved to go through what we were going through.

"You don't seem to have made a good choice with basketball," she said as she laughed, remembering what the girls had said.

"Yeah," I replied a little ruefully, "and what did you choose?"

"Swimming." She said.

I looked at her a little suspiciously and she replied immediately.

"I am a good swimmer. But I was unlucky in the last competition, I was up against a girl named Cassandra and she destroyed me."

“You came to this school to become a swimmer?"

She looked a little annoyed. "No, it doesn't." Soon the irritation faded and gave way to a feeling of sadness. "Although I like swimming, it wasn't really what I wanted to do, it's just that my family is poor and can't afford to pay for me to study at Cherry".

"My father also sent me here because of financial problems. But which course at Cherry? Photography?"

She laughed easily.

"I want to be a singer!" She answered without the slightest hesitation.

My heart beat a little faster. "Just like Saya!"

"Who?" Melody asked confused.

I was a little embarrassed, but since she was very curious, I finally spoke.

"It's a girl I like. She's a friend. I broke up with her, but one day I'll meet her again."

"Good luck."

I felt sad again when I thought about our situation.

"Melody! I've made up my mind and I'm tired of being weak. Saya wouldn't want to see me so pathetic. I'm going to be strong. No! I'll be the strongest!"

Melody clapped her hands lightly.

"And then I won't suffer anymore." I said, finishing the speech.

"That is the spirit. If we can't get out of our situations, then the least we can do is fight not to be crushed."

I smiled. I was determined.

The taunts didn't bother me now that I had a goal in mind. I trained harder than anyone else. I studied my opponents' moves and tried to copy them.

Basketball was my worst sport? Then it was time to make it my best. Several months passed with many different competitions and little by little I became more open with Melody to the point where she became my emotional support.

I didn't usually show weakness in front of my opponents, but I couldn't hide my sadness when I looked at her. The first time I lost after so much training and effort, I felt like crying.

"Melody, I lost," I told her the news when we were alone, I didn't even need to say anything because she had seen it, but I said it anyway and admitted it. And the fact that I did that made me cry.

I cried for many reasons. For being weak. For knowing what was to come. Fear. A whole range of emotions.

She hugged me and stroked my hair. This made me cry more and took all the weight off me.

I gathered the strength to try again. And again, the same result.

"Melody, I've lost again."

And again.

"I lost."

And each time I lost, I cried and she consoled me. Her hugs recharged my energy.

At the time, I was so focused on my first win that I don't remember exactly when she won, but I know it was very quickly. Even though she said she didn't come to school to swim, she was a good swimmer.

I trained non-stop. I fought every day. Finally, I had my first victory. We had a big celebration that day.

My efforts were finally being recognized.

They would finally respect me for who I was.

I could finally have friends.

Finally...

What had once been a rarity became commonplace. I began to win every game. And because of that, the challenges only increased, the teachers only increased the difficulty by pitting me against more challenging opponents.

Each time I came close to losing. I remembered the sadness, I remembered my promise, and I worked miracles so that I wouldn't suffer as I had before. I fought to keep winning.

There came a time when basketball was not enough, I needed more. I needed to win more.

I think it was around this time that Melody left school. She got a job and used her salary to pay for her dream education at Cherry.

My father had finally succeeded in opening the hospital and was better off financially. He offered me the chance to study at any school I wanted.

In the end, I chose the Academy.

Because I am a winner there.

Because that's where the losers adore me.

Because I am rewarded for my efforts.

Because there I am the strongest.

Until I found out that Saya was studying with Hoshi, which made me change schools as fast as I could. So that I could finally reunite with her and show her who I've become, show her my strength and make her fall in love with me.