Couldn't Sleep Again

"Damn fox!"

"Who are you calling an idiot?!" Hanamichi Sakuragi flew into a rage.

"You were clearly the most ruthless one in that fight!" Ryota Miyagi accused. "I saw you whipping people with a mop!"

"Exactly! Who are you trying to look cool for?" Hisashi Mitsui joined the condemnation.

Kaede Rukawa opened his eyes, his dead-fish gaze sweeping over the three without a ripple. "Three big idiots."

"Bastard!!"

The three were just about to gang up on him.

Then, as if they had remembered something, their movements froze again.

If they were talking about who had been the most ruthless in a fight...

The four of them silently looked past the chairs toward the farthest corner of the bench.

No one was sitting there.

Instead, there was an army-green professional outdoor sleeping bag.

It lay sprawled across the floor like a giant caterpillar.

The zipper was pulled all the way up, with only a tuft of black hair sticking out.

"Phew... phew..."

Steady, rhythmic breathing came from inside the sleeping bag.

It even rose and fell slightly with every breath.

A sign stood beside it, bearing crooked handwriting:

[Injured person resting]

[Do not feed. Burn paper offerings if necessary]

"..."

The corners of Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa, Ryota Miyagi, and Hisashi Mitsui's mouths twitched at the same time.

"This guy... is the real culprit, isn't he?!"

"Who was it that took down that monster Tetsuo in one move that day?!" Miyagi gritted his teeth.

"And..."

"Why are we warming the bench while this guy gets to bring a sleeping bag and sleep?!"

"This is discrimination! This is a rigged arrangement!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi pointed at the sleeping bag and shouted in grief and indignation.

"You're so noisy."

"Can't you have some public decency?"

"I'm an international student. I'm dealing with jet lag."

Lin Bei's muffled voice came from inside the sleeping bag, hoarse with sleep.

"What jet lag?!"

"How long have you been here already?!" Mitsui could not help retorting.

"It's psychological jet lag."

"And against opponents like this, I shouldn't need to play, right?"

"I might as well rest a little longer."

A hand stretched out from the sleeping bag and accurately felt around for a can of iced cola beside it.

With a crisp crack, it opened the can before retreating back into the sleeping bag.

"And don't pin this on me. I was acting in self-defense."

"Besides, I'm injured. My heart has suffered tremendous trauma."

"Where the hell are you injured?! You didn't even lose a single hair!" all four of them roared in unison.

Smack!

A huge paper fan appeared out of nowhere and viciously smacked the wriggling sleeping bag.

Then, with lightning speed, it struck Hanamichi Sakuragi, Miyagi, and Mitsui on the head once each.

"Shut up, all of you!"

"It's game time! Can you problem children show even a little sense of urgency?!"

Ayako stood with her hands on her hips, brows raised in fury, radiating authority.

"Boss, that really hurt..." Hanamichi Sakuragi rubbed the swelling on his head.

"I'm a senior..." Mitsui muttered under his breath.

"Miss Ayako even looks beautiful when she hits people..." Miyagi held his head, looking utterly infatuated.

Ayako ignored the bunch of clowns.

She pointed at the scoreboard, her tone turning serious. "Stop arguing and look at the score yourselves."

The four followed Ayako's finger.

The bright red numbers on the electronic scoreboard were painfully glaring.

Shohoku 4:16 Miuradai

"What?!"

"What is Gorilla doing? How are they losing to a scrub team like this by so many points?" Hanamichi Sakuragi's eyes widened.

On the court.

Miuradai's captain, Kengo Murasame, was a burly man with a mohawk.

He had just used his physical advantage to shove aside the skinny Yasuda and score an easy layup.

"Nice one, Captain Murasame!"

"Crush Shohoku!"

Miuradai's cheering section erupted with enthusiastic cheers.

After landing, Murasame did not hurry back on defense.

Instead, he deliberately walked past Takenori Akagi, a contemptuous sneer hanging on his lips.

"Hey, Akagi."

"Don't think that beating Ryonan in one practice game means you can put us on the same level as a team like Ryonan," Murasame said loudly.

Akagi wiped the sweat from his face, his gaze icy. "What did you say?"

"I said a team like yours, one that relies on luck, doesn't deserve to be our opponent at all."

Murasame pointed his thumb at himself.

"Miuradai's goal this year is to take down Kainan."

"You? You're just stepping stones."

His voice was not particularly loud, but the seats in the stands happened to hear every word clearly.

"You bastard!"

A furious roar rang out from the railing in the stands like a thunderclap.

Jun Uozumi abruptly stood up, his enormous frame startling Hikoichi so badly that he nearly threw away his notebook.

"What bullshit is he talking about?!"

"What does he mean, a team like Ryonan?"

Uozumi gripped the railing with both hands, his knuckles whitening from the force as he roared down at Akagi.

"Akagi! What are you doing?!"

"Stop slacking off down there! You can't even handle trash like that?!"

Akagi looked up at the furious Uozumi and rolled his eyes dramatically.

"So noisy."

Though he said that, Akagi's eyes changed.

They held the look of a beast that had been provoked.

"Offense!"

Akagi let out a low roar and took Yasuda's pass.

If the perimeter could not break through, if his teammates were being suppressed, then he would smash through all of it himself!

"Double-team him!" Murasame shouted.

Three Miuradai players instantly collapsed inward, surrounding Akagi like three walls.

"How naive!"

Akagi suddenly exerted force.

The lines of his powerful muscles bulged beneath his skin as he forcibly shoved through the defense of two players and leaped into the air!

"Don't even think about it!"

A vicious glint flashed through Murasame's eyes.

He did not go for the ball. Instead, he covertly extended his arm, his elbow swinging hard at Akagi's face.

That was not a basketball play. That was a move meant to cripple someone!

Thud!

A dull impact sounded.

Akagi lost his balance in midair and crashed heavily onto the floor.

The basketball bounced off the rim.

Beeep—!

"Defensive foul!"

"Basket does not count. Two free throws!" The referee's whistle rang out.

Yet the entire gym fell silent.

Akagi lay on the floor, one hand covering his face.

He was not injured, but it certainly did not feel good.

"Gorilla!!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi was the first to rush to the sideline, his eyes instantly reddening.

The Shohoku bench, which had been laughing and joking moments ago, suddenly turned ice-cold.

Kaede Rukawa opened his eyes, a cold gleam flashing in their depths.

Ryota Miyagi clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh.

Hisashi Mitsui gritted his teeth, his gaze becoming exceptionally dangerous.

And in the corner.

The zipper of that tightly sealed sleeping bag ripped open with a loud zzzip.

Lin Bei sat up.

He glanced at Murasame, who was still arguing with the referee that "I didn't do it on purpose," then looked at Akagi.

Expressionless, Lin Bei stretched, his joints crackling loudly.

"Ah... what a pain."

He stood up, kicked off his slippers, and bent down to tie the laces of his basketball shoes.

His movements were unhurried, yet they carried a suffocating pressure.

"Looks like I won't be getting any sleep today."