"That's..."
Sakuragi raked his fingers through his already messy hair in frustration before waving his hand impatiently.
"Ah, whatever!"
"It means the same thing anyway!"
"Right now, I'm the only one holding down the paint for Shohoku!"
"If I don't get stronger, who's going to grab the rebounds? Who's going to block shots?"
"Who's going to swat all those idiots trying to run wild in Shohoku's key back to their hometowns?!"
For the first time in his life, a heavy burden settled on his shoulders.
Yet at the same time, it felt like a blazing fire.
Burning through his veins.
Making his blood boil.
Just then...
Creak—
The equipment room door opened.
Blinding light flooded inside, forcing Sakuragi to squint.
A tall, lean figure stood in the doorway.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
Wet black bangs clung to his forehead.
A towel hung loosely from one hand.
Rukawa Kaede.
The others had already finished training and gone home.
He seemed to have come back to grab something.
When he spotted Sakuragi sitting alone in the darkness, those cold, narrow eyes shifted slightly.
"Are you incubating eggs in here?"
His voice was as irritatingly indifferent as ever, tinged with the hoarseness of intense exercise.
Sakuragi exploded instantly, springing off the vaulting box.
"Damn Fox! You're the one incubating eggs!"
"This genius is conducting deep tactical meditation!"
"Meditation! You know what that is?!"
"Idiot."
Rukawa rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
"Hold it!"
Sakuragi rushed forward and blocked the doorway like a wall, casting a shadow over him.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
His voice suddenly lowered.
The usual clowning and boasting vanished.
Rukawa stopped.
He raised his eyes to meet Sakuragi's.
"With Gorilla gone, today's scrimmage was leaking inside defense like a sieve."
Sakuragi clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles cracked.
"Even though I hate admitting it..."
"Without that Gorilla yelling under the basket... it feels wrong."
For two seconds, Rukawa remained silent.
Then he wiped the sweat from his chin.
His gaze sharpened like a blade.
"Then get stronger."
"Strong enough that you don't need anyone."
"No kidding! Of course I know that!"
Sakuragi glared.
"But that Zone... that damned state... I just can't grab hold of it!"
"And that lazy bum Makino Juro refuses to teach properly!"
"All he talks about is 'feelings' and 'flow' and other mystical nonsense!"
Rukawa turned around fully and stared straight at him.
"Me too."
"Huh?"
Sakuragi blinked.
"That realm."
Deep within Rukawa's eyes, two blue ghostly flames seemed to burn.
"Sendoh and I..."
"We're both standing behind that door."
He recalled the game.
The moment Makino Juro entered the Zone.
The overwhelming domination.
The suffocating feeling of being completely read.
Completely outclassed.
For someone as prideful as Rukawa, it was worse than death.
"I'll get in."
He tossed the towel over his shoulder.
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Whether it's the Zone or some other path."
"I'll tear that door open."
"I'll become stronger."
Sakuragi stared at his rival.
He hated this show-off fox.
Really hated him.
Yet at this moment...
He saw the exact same fire burning in those eyes.
A hunger for strength.
A desperate unwillingness to be left behind by that lazy monster named Makino Juro.
"Hey, Fox."
A savage grin spread across Sakuragi's face.
The kind of grin that screamed battle intent.
"You got any energy left?"
Rukawa snorted.
"One hand is enough to deal with you."
Ten minutes later.
Half the gym lights, which had already been turned off, flickered back on.
There were no referees.
No spectators.
Just two tireless maniacs.
BANG!
The sound of muscles colliding echoed through the empty gym.
It sounded painful just to listen to.
Sakuragi Hanamichi was like a raging bull.
He fought for position relentlessly, feeling Rukawa's strength through his back.
"Too weak, Fox!"
"Didn't eat dinner?"
"Put some strength into it!"
Using his explosive power, Sakuragi forcibly carved out space and leaped.
SMACK!
Rukawa's hand sliced perfectly onto the ball.
Fast.
Precise.
Merciless.
"Your movements are too obvious, idiot."
The moment he stole the ball, Rukawa exploded forward like a cheetah.
He stopped beyond the three-point line.
Turned.
Jumped.
Shot.
The motion flowed like a painting come to life.
"NO WAY!!"
Sakuragi's terrifying jumping ability shattered expectations once again.
Like a spring loaded with rocket boosters, he launched skyward.
His fingertips nearly brushed the ball.
Swish.
Nothing but net.
"Again!"
The instant he landed, Sakuragi snatched up the ball and hurled it back.
"That one doesn't count!"
"I-I slipped!"
"The floor was too slippery!"
"You talk too much."
The two of them became perpetual-motion machines.
Sweat pooled into streams across the hardwood.
Every breath carried the taste of blood.
Their lungs burned like fire.
But neither stopped.
"Makino Juro..."
Sakuragi wheezed while playing defense.
His breathing sounded like a broken bellows.
"He says Zone means having no distractions..."
"But my head is completely filled with wanting to crush you, Fox!"
"Does that count as a distraction?!"
"It does."
"Then you'll never enter it again."
Rukawa coldly twisted the knife while crossing over.
"Bullshit!"
"This genius is doing it for the team!"
"For national domination!"
Sakuragi roared as he chased after him.
"Unlike you, you lone wolf! All you think about is one-on-one battles!"
"So what?"
Rukawa's eyes turned icy.
Suddenly—
He accelerated.
No fancy moves.
No complicated techniques.
Pure instinct.
The instinct of a beast fighting for survival in the wilderness.
Wildness.
A primitive, dangerous aura erupted from him.
"So fast!"
Sakuragi's pupils contracted violently.
But he didn't retreat.
His body reacted faster than his brain.
In that instant, he forgot how to think.
Forgot every complicated theory about the Zone.
There was only the opponent in front of him.
Only the obsession to stop this shot.
BOOM!!
The two collided violently in midair.
Then crashed onto the hardwood like sacks of cement.
The basketball circled the rim several times.
Then unwillingly rolled out.
"It missed! HAHAHAHA!"
"This genius stopped you!"
Sakuragi lay spread-eagle on the floor, laughing like an idiot.
His chest rose and fell violently.
Rukawa lay beside him, gasping for air.
Sweat dripped into his eyes from his hair.
He didn't even have the strength to wipe it away.
"...Lucky."
The King of Stubborn Pride had entered the battlefield.
"Just admit it, Fox."
"This genius is your natural enemy."
Sakuragi stared up at the ceiling lights.
His vision gradually blurred.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Juro's probably sleeping comfortably right now, isn't he?"
"...Definitely."
"That's annoying."
"...Yeah."
"When Gorilla comes back, I'll make sure he sees it."
"This genius will have already surpassed that lazy bum."
"Keep dreaming."
Their voices grew softer.
Exhaustion surged over them like a tidal wave.
A forced shutdown.
The next morning.
Sunlight streamed through the gym windows.
The air carried the fresh scent of morning dew.
Creak—
The gym doors opened.
"Morning!"
"Let's start another energetic day of—"
Miyagi Ryota spun a basketball on his finger.
Then froze mid-sentence.
Like a duck with its throat suddenly squeezed shut.
Behind him, Mitsui Hisashi walked in holding a bottle of water.
"What is it?"
"You see a ghost or something?"
The next second....
Clatter!
The bottle slipped from Mitsui's hand and rolled across the floor.
Because right in the center of the court...
Two figures were tightly entangled together.
The image was highly questionable.
Extremely questionable.
Very difficult to explain.
The entire gym fell silent.
...
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede had passed out from exhaustion.
Still tangled together from their final collision.
One had an arm hooked around the other's neck.
The other had a leg draped across his rival's waist.
Sleeping soundly.
Like a newlywed couple.
The silence lasted three full seconds.
Then—
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Miyagi's laughter nearly blew the roof off the gym.
"FOX AND IDIOT!"
"What exactly happened here last night?!"
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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