Takenori Akagi was absent from training that day. Someone had come to tell him that an important guest was waiting for him at home, so he had left early.
Vice-captain Kiminobu Kogure was too much of a nice guy, so there was no one to stop Hisashi Mitsui and Kaede Rukawa from playing one-on-one.
Ryota Kudo, the only person capable of stopping them, had no intention of speaking up. He stood on the sidelines, ready to enjoy the show.
A one-on-one between former middle school MVP Hisashi Mitsui and super rookie Kaede Rukawa was bound to be interesting. The other Problem Children thought so too, their faces full of anticipation.
The practice game ended early, and the court was left to Hisashi Mitsui and Kaede Rukawa.
As the upperclassman, Hisashi Mitsui tossed the ball to Kaede Rukawa, signaling for him to take the first possession.
Kaede Rukawa caught the ball without a word and immediately went on the attack.
With a burst of speed, Kaede Rukawa forced his way past Hisashi Mitsui on the right.
Leaning into Hisashi Mitsui, Kaede Rukawa powered into the paint and jumped with all his strength.
Hisashi Mitsui, with his wealth of defensive experience, jumped too, raising both arms high to block every possible shooting angle.
Although his physical abilities fell short of Kaede Rukawa's, Hisashi Mitsui had pulled off the defensive play through experience. A confident smile spread across his face.
But the next second, Kaede Rukawa pulled the ball back. Using his outstanding core strength to hang in the air, he sailed from one side of the basket to the other.
Only after slipping past Hisashi Mitsui's defense did Kaede Rukawa put the ball into the basket with a reverse layup.
"He's so good!" Kiminobu Kogure exclaimed from the sidelines.
Ryota Miyagi nodded