One-on-One with Kaede Rukawa

The basketball was still bouncing on the floor.

Thud, thud, thud...

At last, it feebly rolled toward the corner of the wall.

That monotonous sound was exceptionally piercing in the deathly silent gym.

Shiozaki remained frozen in his blocking stance, stiff as a plaster statue.

He turned his head, his eyes bulging as though they were about to pop out, staring at the still-swaying net.

What had just happened?

That posture...

That fadeaway, one that completely defied human biomechanics, had actually gone in?

"N-No way..." Yasuda swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

Takenori Akagi's dark face looked terrifyingly grim at that moment, the veins at his temples throbbing.

He stared fixedly at Lin Bei, who was preparing to walk toward the bench, his chest heaving violently.

As the basketball team captain, he had seen countless ways of scoring.

Kaede Rukawa's drives, Hisashi Mitsui's perfect arcing threes, even Hanamichi Sakuragi's little-man layups.

But he had never seen anything like this...

A shot brimming with "perfunctoriness" and "casualness," yet accurate to an outrageous degree.

It was as easy as casually tossing a crumpled paper ball into a trash can.

"Stop!"

Akagi's voice was low, like muffled thunder before a storm.

Lin Bei stopped in his tracks.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping, but did not turn around.

"Captain, that counted as a three-pointer, right?"

"Together with the earlier ones, that's enough exercise."

"According to the Labor Law... ah, no, according to school rules, excessive training affects adolescents' growth and development."

Lin Bei raised his right hand and gave a feeble wave.

"Who said you could leave?"

Akagi strode over in a few large steps, blocking Lin Bei's path like a mountain.

A huge shadow instantly engulfed Lin Bei.

"Take that shot again."

"Huh?"

"Captain, it was just a lucky shot."

"I couldn't make it again even if I tried a hundred times."

"My arms are sore and my legs are weak. I need sugar immediately, or I'll faint right here on the court."

"Then everyone would have to call emergency services. That would be so embarrassing..."

Lin Bei lifted his eyelids, his dead-fish eyes full of resistance.

"Cut the crap!"

Akagi grabbed the basketball and viciously shoved it into Lin Bei's arms. "That posture, that release point—it was absolutely not luck!"

"You bastard, just how much are you still hiding?"

Lin Bei held the ball, feeling the rough texture of the leather, while inwardly ranting at the system.

[Warning: Takenori Akagi's anger level is rising]

[A. Obey (Reward: Akagi's favorability +5)]

[B. Refuse overtime (Reward: Slacking Value +10, but may face violent suppression)]

Did he even need to choose?

Just as Lin Bei was about to toss the ball back, an icy gaze suddenly stabbed into him.

It carried the chill of being watched by some kind of beast.

Kaede Rukawa had walked over without anyone noticing.

His usually sleepy-looking eyes were astonishingly bright now, locked tightly onto Lin Bei.

"Hey."

Rukawa spoke, brief and direct. "Play me."

"No." Lin Bei refused instantly.

Play basketball with this basketball maniac?

That was absolutely the most exhausting thing in the world, bar none.

When this guy played basketball, the word "rest" did not exist in his dictionary.

"Scared of losing?"

Rukawa raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying an exceptionally punchable hint of provocation.

"Reverse psychology doesn't work on me."

Lin Bei yawned and stuffed the ball into Rukawa's arms.

"You're the ace. I'm just a slacker."

"It's only natural for a slacker to lose to an ace."

"I concede. This point is yours. Congratulations on winning."

With that, he tried to walk away around Rukawa.

"Hold it!"

This time, Hanamichi Sakuragi jumped out.

The red-haired monkey blocked the way with an unhappy expression, his nostrils pointed at the ceiling.

"What's so great about that stinking fox, Kaede Rukawa?!"

"Hey... you! Pretty boy!"

"If you're playing, play this genius instead!"

"I'm the man who'll become the next captain of the basketball team!"

The scene instantly turned into chaos.

Ayako stood nearby holding a paper fan, watching the scene helplessly.

Yet her gaze could not help circling back to Lin Bei.

That shot just now... had it really only been a coincidence?

"Shut up, all of you!"

Akagi's furious roar silenced the entire gym.

He stared at Lin Bei, then suddenly gave a cold laugh. "Lin Bei, you want to slack off, huh?"

"It's called resting, Captain."

"Efficient rest is for better work." Lin Bei nodded honestly.

"Fine."

"You and Rukawa will play three points."

"If you can win even one point, you won't have to attend morning practice from now on, and you'll be allowed to leave afternoon training half an hour early." Akagi pointed at Rukawa.

Lin Bei's ears instantly perked up.

His dead-fish eyes flew wide open.

The words "leave early" seemed to gleam in golden light within his pupils.

No need to get up early?

And he could leave early too?

This was practically the highest realm of paid leave!

"Captain, words alone aren't enough. Shall we put it in writing?"

Lin Bei's back stopped aching, his legs stopped hurting, and his entire body became invigorated.

"My word is my bond."

"But if you lose... your training workload doubles, and you'll be responsible for mopping the floor for a month." Akagi's mouth twitched.

"Deal."

Lin Bei turned around, and the way he looked at Rukawa had completely changed.

It was no longer the look he gave trouble, but the look he gave an "early-leave pass."

"Rukawa."

"For the sake of my sleep quality, I can only ask you to suffer a little."

Rukawa said nothing. He merely tossed the ball to Lin Bei.

Then he lowered his center of gravity and took up a defensive stance.

The air instantly froze.

The first-year freshmen held their breaths, while the upperclassmen gathered around as well.

Everyone wanted to know whether this guy who had always slept in the corner was merely a flash in the pan.

"That Lin Bei is definitely going to get crushed by Kaede Rukawa."

"Yeah, Kaede Rukawa is Tomigaoka Middle School's ace..."

Amid the murmurs, the 188-centimeter Lin Bei held the ball in one hand as he stood beyond the three-point line.

He looked at Rukawa, who was waiting in full readiness before him.

This guy's defense really was good. His center of gravity was very low.

His gaze was focused too, with almost no openings.

Using conventional methods, scoring over him would take at least two pounds of sweat.

Far too unprofitable.

"Let's end this quickly."

Lin Bei muttered inwardly.

[Active Skill: Hyper-Speed Dribbling (Daiki Aomine) activated]

Bang!

The basketball slammed heavily into the floor.

At that very instant, Lin Bei moved.

There were no feints and no probing steps.

It was simply, purely, to the absolute extreme—fast!

Rukawa's pupils suddenly shrank.

In his field of vision, Lin Bei's figure seemed to blur for an instant.

So fast!

His body instinctively wanted to move right and cut him off.

But before his brain could issue the command, a gust of wind had already swept past his ear.

"Wha—"

Rukawa spun around sharply, but saw only a lazy back.

Lin Bei had already charged into the paint.

Facing an entirely undefended basket, he could not even be bothered to jump for a dunk. He merely made a casual finger roll.

The basketball obediently dropped through the net.

1:0.

The entire process took less than two seconds.

An eerie silence fell over the gym once more.

Takenori Akagi's jaw hung slightly open, and the clipboard in his hand nearly fell to the floor.

That speed...

That explosiveness...

Was this really the Lin Bei who started panting after running two steps?