Chapter Fifteen: A Terrifying Player
"Sorry I'm late."
Just as the game was about to begin, an apologetic voice echoed from the gymnasium entrance.
"SENDOH! YOU IDIOT!" Coach Taoka roared. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"
"Sorry, Coach." Sendoh Akira scratched his head sheepishly. "I overslept."
Coach Taoka's expression froze instantly, the breath catching in his chest. Sendoh stating such a ridiculous excuse so matter-of-factly left him momentarily speechless, unsure how to continue his tirade.
"Sendoh-senpai! Your jersey!" Aida Hikoichi sprinted over clutching Sendoh's uniform.
"Thanks, Hikoichi." Sendoh caught the jersey and casually pulled it on.
"SENDOH! SENDOH!" The previously lifeless cheering section on the second floor suddenly came alive.
"That guy's as infuriating as the damn fox!" Sakuragi complained.
"Sendoh, no time for a warm-up," Uozumi Jun said gravely.
"Don't worry," Sendoh smiled while rotating his wrists. "I jogged here, and besides..."
His gaze shifted to Yagami Sorato, tone relaxed. "We've got Sorato. I can warm up during the game."
"Sendoh-senpai." Yagami suddenly spoke, his tone carrying slight hesitation.
"Hm?" Sendoh looked at him with his usual gentle smile. "What's up? You're not nervous, are you?"
They'd been training together for a while now. Sendoh didn't think Yagami was the type to get stage fright.
"How about," Yagami paused, "you warm up on the bench for the first quarter?"
The suggestion created an instant pocket of silence. Proposing that the team's ace sit on the bench for the opening quarter—coming from a first-year like Yagami—was textbook insubordination.
Normally, whether a player enters the game falls entirely to the coach's discretion. But this was a practice game, and after some hesitation, Yagami voiced his thoughts.
"Your reasoning?" Sendoh wasn't angry, just found it interesting.
"My reasoning?" Yagami's calm tone carried unshakeable confidence. "Against Shohoku, I'm enough."
---
"Both teams, line up!"
"Let's go, Shohoku!"
"RYONAN! VICTORY!"
"PLEASE TAKE CARE OF US!"
Ryonan's starting lineup: #8 Point Guard Uekusa Tomoyuki, #6 Shooting Guard Koshino Hiroaki, #10 Small Forward Yagami Sorato, #5 Power Forward Ikegami Ryoji, #4 Center Uozumi Jun.
Shohoku's starting lineup: #6 Point Guard Yasuda Yasuharu (5'5" / 126 lbs), #8 Shooting Guard Shiozaki Tetsushi (5'7" / 134 lbs), #11 Small Forward Rukawa Kaede (6'1" / 165 lbs), #5 Power Forward Kogure Kiminobu (5'10" / 137 lbs), #4 Center Akagi Takenori (6'6" / 198 lbs).
"So they're still not starting Sakuragi?" Yagami glanced toward the bench with slight disappointment.
Sensing Yagami's gaze, Sakuragi felt indignant and once again pestered Coach Anzai with complaints.
TWEET!
The whistle blew. The game began as the referee tossed the ball skyward.
SMACK!
"Whoa, Shohoku's ball!"
Despite his height advantage, Uozumi lost the tip. Akagi Takenori's vertical explosion proved superior.
"BRING IT ON, SHOHOKU!" Uozumi showed no discouragement—his fighting spirit only intensified.
Point guard Yasuda brought the ball up, barely crossing half court.
The basketball got poked away by Uekusa.
"Uekusa-senpai, great steal!"
"Crap! Get back!"
"S-so fast!"
BOOM!
Yagami had already reached Shohoku's basket, catching Uekusa's outlet pass and rising to hammer it home.
Ryonan 2 - 0 Shohoku
"Oh my, are you guys still asleep?" Yagami said lightly after landing.
"YEAH! RYONAN! VICTORY!"
"Amazing! Ryonan's players are so fluid!"
Shohoku inbound.
Yasuda brought the ball up again, Shiozaki running alongside to screen.
"Uekusa's been really motivated lately," Ryonan players discussed on the bench.
"Of course. Having first-year Yagami also playing point guard puts a lot of pressure on him."
"As an upperclassman, he's gotta work harder."
Yasuda, completely stifled by Uekusa's defense, had no choice but to pass to Shiozaki.
"Watch the clock!" Shohoku's manager Ayako called from the sideline.
Shiozaki forced up a contested shot over Koshino.
CLANG!
A crisp brick echoed through the gym.
"REBOUND!"
"NOT GIVING IT TO YOU, AKAGI!"
"RAAAH!"
Uozumi powered past Akagi for the board.
Yagami pushed the break again, but this time Rukawa stayed glued to his hip.
"Great recovery!"
"That's Rukawa Kaede, number eleven!"
Yagami pulled up at the top of Shohoku's three-point arc, raising the ball to shoot.
"NOT HAPPENING!"
Rukawa elevated for the block—
"?!"
"Pump fake!"
WHOOSH!
Yagami kicked it left to the trailing Koshino for an easy layup.
Ryonan 4 - 0 Shohoku
"Why so eager? You almost gave me a heart attack," Yagami said with a smile, jogging back.
Rukawa's expression darkened as he glared.
"Ah, that kid's starting his mental warfare again," Ikegami muttered, glancing at the two first-years facing off.
During regular training, Ikegami found this aspect even more annoying than Yagami's actual skills.
Uozumi with his random roaring, Sendoh with his infuriating laid-back attitude, and now Yagami with his devious trash talk...
Ryonan's collection of weirdos kept growing.
Shohoku inbound.
Yasuda carefully brought the ball across half court. Rukawa called for it. Yasuda didn't hesitate, immediately feeding him the rock.
"TOO SLOW!"
"OH NO!"
Yagami exploded from inside the arc like a cheetah. Rukawa sensed the danger immediately—both lunged for the ball simultaneously.
SMACK!
Yagami's fingertips deflected the pass precisely, securing possession a half-step faster.
"BEAUTIFUL STEAL!"
Both sprinted toward Shohoku's basket in parallel, Rukawa pressing tight on defense.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING PAST!"
"Oh?"
After crossing the three-point line, Yagami suddenly pulled the ball back for a pull-up jumper!
Rukawa somehow planted his feet and launched backward to contest.
SWISH!
Nothing but net.
Ryonan 7 - 0 Shohoku
"Guess I won't go past then~" Yagami said cheerfully.
"This guy... his moves are completely different from what I saw before!" Rukawa's shock mixed with confusion. Had he deliberately shown simplified movements while toying with that idiot Sakuragi last week?
After consecutive turnovers, Rukawa demanded the ball before even crossing half court on the next possession.
Their first exchanges exposed Shohoku's biggest weakness—no reliable ball-handler. Against strong teams, Yasuda struggled just protecting the ball to the frontcourt. Organizing an offense on top of that proved too demanding.
Rukawa pushed to the frontcourt. He wanted to iso Yagami from the 45-degree angle!
However, breaking down Yagami's defense proved harder than expected. After two failed speed-based attempts, Rukawa calmed down.
"RUKAWA!"
Akagi posted up against Uozumi, calling for the ball. If the perimeter wasn't working, he'd pound it inside first!
Rukawa threw a one-handed pass. Yagami reached to intercept.
Right then!
Rukawa yanked the ball back, dropped low, and accelerated past.
SMACK!
Yagami cut off Rukawa's driving lane while his left hand flashed out like lightning, perfectly swatting the ball loose.
"RUKAWA GOT STRIPPED?!" Shohoku's bench erupted in disbelief.
"He read it?" Rukawa's mind reeled, completely confused how his fake got exposed.
Yagami pushed in transition, Rukawa hot on his heels.
"Another pass?"
Rukawa caught Yagami's backward glance. When he raised the ball, Rukawa flew to intercept.
The ball didn't leave his hands!
"Just kidding~"
Yagami chuckled, accelerating straight into the paint and exploding for a vicious one-handed tomahawk!
Ryonan 9 - 0 Shohoku
Three minutes in, Ryonan had opened up a 9-0 run!
Yagami: 7 points, 1 assist!
TWEET!
"Shohoku timeout!"
Coach Anzai's perpetually squinting eyes opened slightly wider.
Yagami's technical skills certainly impressed him, but players with this level of technique at this age, while rare, weren't completely unheard of.
From Coach Anzai's extensive coaching career, Rukawa's pure technical ability matched Yagami's—anything Yagami could do, Rukawa could replicate.
But the basketball IQ gap was enormous!
Every decision Yagami made these past few minutes—his positioning, his ball movement, his responses after reading the defense—didn't resemble a high school player at all.
Clear logic, intelligent execution, almost as if predicting opponents' reactions. Every step Yagami took carried a maturity beyond his years.
"What a terrifying player... We'll need to introduce some variables into this game."
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