Chapter Thirteen: You Won't Score a Single Basket
"Rukawa Kaede?"
The red-haired player who'd just completed a thunderous dunk looked over, clearly annoyed. "Huh? Who are you guys?"
"That incredible vertical leap! That powerful dunk!" Aida Hikoichi was completely absorbed in his own analysis, practically vibrating with excitement. "There's no doubt—"
"You must be Rukawa Kaede!"
"Pfft."
Yagami Sorato couldn't help laughing. After collecting all that intel, Aida didn't even know what Rukawa looked like.
"Oh man, I've heard all sorts of legends about you!" Completely oblivious to his mistake, Aida eagerly began rattling off stats. "Like that time in middle school when you had four monster dunks in one game, or when you dropped 50 points..."
He continued talking non-stop, completely missing how the red-haired player's expression darkened visibly, his anger meter rapidly climbing.
"Though supposedly you're really handsome and super popular with girls," Aida stroked his chin, scrutinizing that wild red hair with growing suspicion. "But seeing you now, I guess the intel had some inaccuracies... With weird red hair like that, how could you possibly be popular with girls? Ha ha ha..."
"DAMN IT—HAVE YOU SAID ENOUGH?!" The red-haired player grabbed Aida's head and delivered a brutal headbutt without mercy!
"You stupid monkey!"
"OW! THAT HURT!" Aida screamed, tears nearly springing to his eyes.
"Alright, that's enough." Yagami separated them. "You got the wrong guy, Hikoichi."
"Hmph. Looks like you've heard of this genius's reputation."
"Not really. I just know you're not Rukawa Kaede," Yagami said deliberately.
"Hmph. Rukawa Kaede again." The red-haired teen said dismissively. "What's so special about a guy at that level anyway?"
"That level? Rukawa Kaede?" Aida was completely overwhelmed by his opponent's presence.
"I don't know how glorious Rukawa was in middle school, but to me, he's just middle school level." He continued, "He just entered high school and immediately ran into an insurmountable wall he'll never overcome in his entire life."
"Could it be...?" Aida's eyes filled with disbelief. "Who exactly are you...?"
"That's right! Listen up!" The red-haired teen thrust out his chest, thumb pointing proudly at himself as he loudly proclaimed, "I'm the future pillar of Shohoku's basketball team, the only candidate for next captain! The genius player who defeated that gorilla Akagi Takenori on his very first day of practice—Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
"What—?!"
To think that even Akagi—the Shohoku captain Uozumi-senpai constantly wanted to surpass—wasn't a match for this guy.
Aida felt an invisible pressure wash over him, beads of sweat forming on his temples. No wonder he possessed such incredible presence and vertical leap—he was this kind of hidden "genius"!
"I—I was so disrespectful!" Aida immediately stood ramrod straight and bowed deeply at ninety degrees. "Please forgive my ignorance, Sakuragi-senpai!"
Seeing such a solemn apology, Sakuragi tilted his head back proudly, clearly eating it up.
"Pfft... ha ha ha..."
At that moment, a barely suppressed laugh echoed through the gym.
A hand landed on the still-bowing Aida's shoulder. He turned around confused, discovering that Yagami Sorato—normally so composed—was now laughing so hard he could barely stand straight, his eyes actually glistening with tears.
"Yagami, what's wrong?"
"Hikoichi," Yagami finally stopped laughing and wiped his eyes. "The way you collect intel, you're basically an undercover agent."
"Huh?" Aida looked puzzled. Did he get something wrong?
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Sakuragi's proud expression vanished, replaced by a hostile glare at this uninvited guest who'd suddenly started laughing.
"Nothing much," Yagami straightened up, traces of amusement still on his face though his tone carried a light provocation. "Just suddenly felt like testing myself against this legendary 'genius' player."
"Yagami," Aida remembered Coach Taoka's instructions, "the coach said you can't play today!"
"It's fine. This'll be over quick." Yagami waved dismissively, his gaze returning to Sakuragi. "What's wrong? Is our 'genius player' scared?"
"Hmph! Dealing with small fry like you won't even require my full strength!" Sakuragi was easily baited, snatching up the basketball from the floor aggressively. "Name your game!"
"Simple. First to three buckets wins." Yagami's tone was casual. "But to avoid this ending too fast, let's alternate possessions."
He gestured politely. "You want to go first?"
"No need!" Sakuragi refused without hesitation, his confidence overflowing as he declared—
"This genius won't let you score a single basket!"
---
The game began.
Yagami dribbled casually at the top of the three-point arc, calmly observing Sakuragi Hanamichi's battle-ready stance.
He knew clearly that while Sakuragi was just a basketball novice who'd barely touched the sport, his explosive physical gifts were undeniably real.
However, Yagami had minimal interest in simply "defeating" Sakuragi Hanamichi. His peripheral vision had already caught sight of another familiar figure appearing courtside. This warm-up against Sakuragi could only be considered an appetizer before the main course.
First possession.
Yagami executed a quick, clean crossover that shifted Sakuragi's weight, then cut straight to the basket.
"Whoa, fast."
Despite getting broken down, Sakuragi somehow recovered and chased. But Yagami was already airborne, floating in a finger roll that kissed off the glass.
Yagami easily scored the first bucket.
1-0
"Damn it!" Sakuragi shouted.
Yagami tossed him the ball.
"Your turn."
Sakuragi caught the ball, dribbled, got stripped. The entire sequence took three seconds.
"What an idiot." A black-haired teen who'd appeared courtside when the game started spoke coldly.
Aida's attention remained locked on the court, never imagining that Sakuragi—so full of bluster at the start—would perform this... pathetically.
Second possession.
Sakuragi's eyes widened, his focus intensifying.
Yagami dribbled seemingly casually on the perimeter, then suddenly raised the ball in a shooting motion. Sakuragi bit completely, exploding upward for the block and swatting at nothing but air. Yagami calmly gathered the ball, took one dribble sideways, and with absolutely no defender near him, knocked down a mid-range jumper.
2-0
"Better step it up. This might be your last offensive possession," Yagami said, tossing the ball back to Sakuragi.
"What should I do?" Sakuragi thought frantically, suddenly recalling a play against Akagi Takenori.
"Watch this!"
Sakuragi hammered the ball off the backboard. If he could just dunk it, nobody could stop him!
"???"
Yagami's attention didn't follow the ball. He simply sealed Sakuragi's position.
"I can't get past?!" Sakuragi could only push against Yagami, slowly grinding toward the free-throw line.
BANG!
The ball bounced to the floor. Yagami scooped it up easily.
"This guy..." The cold-eyed black-haired teen's attention shifted entirely to Yagami.
Third possession.
Sakuragi grew anxious. Yagami worked the ball through his legs repeatedly, swaying left and right. Sakuragi's feet seemed nailed to the floor—he couldn't read the drive direction at all.
"You wanted to do something like this, right?"
The next instant, the ball flew behind Sakuragi. He instinctively turned to look.
Yagami exploded left, blowing past the distracted Sakuragi, then elevated inside the free-throw line, snatching the rebounding ball with one hand and hammering it through the rim!
3-0
The game ended in a flash.
"DAMN IT!" Sakuragi clutched his head, unable to believe he hadn't stopped a single shot.
"Hey," a cold voice called from the sideline. "What's the point of bullying an idiot?"
Yagami's lips curved into a slight smile. This was exactly the reaction he'd anticipated. He met those eyes directly, the basketball spinning on his fingertip.
"Want to play then?"
"Rukawa Kaede."
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