Chapter 12 makes its debut

Upon hearing their words, Rukawa Kaede, who was walking into the arena, stiffened slightly.

Her fair, chubby cheeks puffed up: ...?

Her beautiful, captivating fox-like eyes swept over him in a fleeting moment before meeting Hanon's gaze.

Rukawa Kaede abruptly looked away.

He dribbled the ball, quickly attacked the basket, leaped up with incredible speed, and slammed the ball into the hoop.

A loud "bang"!

In the audience, the girls screamed excitedly.

Kogure nudged Ishii, who was standing next to him, in confusion: "Ishii, you're in the same class as Rukawa. Has something different happened to him lately?"

Ishii thought for a moment, then said without hesitation, "No, he just sleeps in the classroom all the time."

Watching the game, Kogure fell into thought: "That's strange, he seems really active lately, always dunking instead of layups, and when he does, it's a powerful dunk..."

Ishii scratched his head, without giving it much thought, and replied, "Maybe Rukawa also thinks slam dunk is cooler."

During a break, Rukawa's gaze inadvertently lingered on Kanon's location.

She had a pen between her fingers, sat next to Coach Anzai, and kept jotting down notes while answering his questions.

When the light shone on her face, the fine downy hairs on her cheeks looked as if they were shimmering.

He sensed a calm and composed demeanor from her.

This kind of demeanor made her look exceptionally radiant.

Holding the registration book, Kuwata asked with a puzzled look, "Sakuragi, does your sister know how to play basketball?"

Sakuragi, chin in hand, mindlessly praised, "Yes... absolutely amazing!!!"

At this moment, Sakuragi had an expression that said, "My whole family are geniuses."

Everyone stared at him for a few seconds, then looked at Hanon, guessing that she must play basketball and have a certain level of skill, but probably not a particularly outstanding one.

The Shohoku basketball team has an extra training plan, so they have not only gained an assistant coach, but also an assistant manager.

Haruko blushed, "Please give me your guidance."

"That's great!" Sakuragi was overjoyed, his voice filled with anticipation and excitement. "That means I'll have more time alone with Haruko! This is a great opportunity to nurture our relationship!"

Ayako rolled her eyes. "There are so many people on the court, this doesn't count as being alone."

Sakuragi's ears automatically covered up; he couldn't hear, couldn't hear, couldn't hear...

Rukawa Kaede walked to the sidelines, wiped his sweat with a clean towel, and seemingly unintentionally walked behind Hanon, his gaze falling on the notebook in her hand.

That page contained comprehensive and detailed data on a particular player on the team.

Huayin suddenly turned around and caught him peeking at her in the act.

Rukawa Kaede: ...

The fox quickly turned its head away.

Sakuragi stared intently at Rukawa, as if facing a formidable enemy, his eyes questioning him.

After a while, the voice rose, shouting, "Hey you stinky fox! Why are you always hanging around my sister?!"

Sakuragi's loud horn blare successfully drew the attention of the entire team, and everyone cast puzzled glances at him.

Rukawa Kaede's face was expressionless, his voice cold and devoid of any warmth: "Super idiot!"

"Wow! Sister, did you see that? That stinky fox is so fierce, and he has such a terrible temper! Men like that are the most unreliable!"

Hanon smiled at the two's seemingly irreconcilable differences and objectively remarked, "No, I think Rukawa is quite easy to get along with."

Rukawa Kaede is very polite and respectful to his elders. He just doesn't have much interest in socializing with others and doesn't want to waste his time on anything other than basketball.

Hanon, however, felt that—

It's good to have simple interpersonal relationships.

Upon hearing this, the fox's ears twitched.

Soon it was time for the practice match at Ryonan.

Sakuragi practiced the entire routine, from dribbling and passing to rebounding and positioning, to layups.

Hanon glanced up at the wall clock. "Hanamichi, it's eight o'clock!"

He was dumbfounded. "What? So fast!"

During the time Hanon was back, she urged him to practice extra every morning and evening, and he gradually improved, with his concentration becoming higher and higher.

But that's far from enough. Having never experienced the cruelty of competitive sports, he can't understand the bitterness and pain behind victory, and still retains a naive confidence in his own strength and talent.

Hana handed him the water, saying, "Hurry up, hurry up, we need to meet up with everyone later!"

Sakuragi quickly gulped down a few mouthfuls, scratched his head, and realized that several hours had passed without him noticing... Usually, he would start to get distracted after practicing for half an hour.

When Hanon and Sakuragi rushed to the meeting place, they happened to run into Coach Anzai.

Coach Anzai, panting, said, "Oh ho ho ho... I finally made it."

"Coach, assistant coach." The young players bowed respectfully to the two.

Hua Yin glanced at him, meeting his beautiful fox-like eyes. He sat quietly, his expression still calm and indifferent.

"Flower arrangement, come on."

Sakuragi walked over, grinning sheepishly, "What's wrong?"

Rukawa Kaede: ...?

He thought that Kanon would come over to say hello immediately, but he was ignored.

"You're keeping all of my and my coach's luggage!"

"Okay!" Sakuragi said, carrying a sports bag in one hand, his arm muscles bulging.

Look at that figure!

"Wow—" Kanon raised an eyebrow: "What solid muscles!"

She loosely clenched her fist and gently bumped his hard arm, teasingly saying, "Not bad muscles, kid~"

Sakuragi's face turned bright red, and he even struck a few poses, looking rather smug: "Really? Hahaha..."

Upon seeing this scene, everyone's faces turned round and their eyebrows and eyes looked bewildered.

Rukawa Kaede's bangs swayed, and his indifferent fox-like eyes narrowed slightly.

Suddenly, he heard light footsteps, and then someone sat down beside him.

As she sat down, a gentle breeze carried a familiar, delicate fragrance.

Rukawa Kaede's chubby cheeks radiated a chilling aura.

Kanon actually saw a hint of unhappiness on that expressionless fox face.

She thought for a few seconds, then took the initiative to say, "Rukawa, good luck in the match later."

"Um."

His long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Rukawa responded softly, his voice still cool and aloof.

It seems that his demeanor changes immediately when the topic of competition comes up; that composure and confidence are deeply rooted in his heart.

That is a silent love for basketball that will always remain.

Hanon couldn't help but laugh.

He really is a single-celled organism whose mind is only focused on basketball; he gets so happy just from mentioning basketball.

Hearing the familiar laughter, Rukawa Kaede involuntarily relaxed his tightly furrowed brows and overly tense cheeks.

Ayako: "Speaking of which, Sendoh is still pretty amazing. He was the Rookie of the Year in Kanagawa Prefecture last year."

Hanon: "Oh, really? I'm actually looking forward to seeing him."

Sakuragi scoffed: "What's Sendoh! I, the genius, will take him down!"

Rukawa's sharp eyes flashed with fighting spirit; he was determined to defeat Sendoh!

"Oh my~ Good luck, Sakuragi Hanamichi!" Ayako covered her mouth and laughed, not trying to discourage the red-haired monkey.

Looking at his smug expression, Hua Yin cleared her throat and said, "Hua, I have three expectations for you."

Sakuragi was taken aback. "Huh?"

"First, you need to be able to dribble past opponents and not be easily dispossessed by them."

"Secondly, we must do a good job in defense."

"Third, don't miss any opportunity to grab rebounds, and as for scoring, leave that task to your teammates for now!"

The entire Shohoku team nodded in unison, as she spoke their minds!

Upon hearing Kanon's expectations, Sakuragi retorted, "Hmph, what's that?! This genius will definitely get more points than that annoying fox!"

Hua Yin blinked and pondered for a moment, then held up two fingers, teasing him deliberately: "So, for the fourth one, how about trying to get two points?"

Everyone lowered their heads in unison, trying their best to control themselves and not make a sound, for fear that the red-haired monkey would fly into a rage.

However, the red-haired monkey still exploded, stomping his feet and yelling, "Damn it! You underestimate this genius! I will definitely exceed your expectations!"

Hana laughed and quickly soothed him, saying, "I think that with your abilities, if you concentrate, you might actually exceed my expectations."

Sakuragi was immediately reassured and said confidently, "There's no doubt about that! Just watch this genius's magnificent performance!"

Hanon said with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to it!"

This game marked Sakuragi's first time participating in a basketball match and his debut as the rebounding champion.

Lingnan Basketball Hall.

Sakuragi paced back and forth on the bench, questioning the coach with dissatisfaction:

"Hey Dad, what are you trying to do? Why won't you let me, your secret weapon, go on stage? Are you kidding me?!"

That's outrageous! That Rukawa Kaede is showing off everywhere, and everyone's completely smitten with him!

Takamiya: "Hanamichi didn't play, and Kanon-nee-san's video recorder is already halfway through recording. Will he not get a chance to play in this competition?"

Noma: "Honestly, I should have known better than to skip class."

Yohei laughed and said, "This is really a headache. Hanamichi must be about to lose his temper too."

Sakuragi turned around angrily: "You bunch of people! I heard everything you said! I didn't call you here!"

Da Nan: "Don't be angry, Hanamichi. We just came to see you make a fool of yourself."

Sakuragi roared, "You guys are really bullying me!"

The Sakuragi Army chattered incessantly.

Ayako covered her ears, enduring the discomfort caused by the high decibels, and said, "Please, could you please sit down and concentrate on watching the game?"

Then he nudged Huayin, signaling her to keep an eye on the red-haired monkey.

Hanon was quite helpless and pulled Sakuragi to sit next to her.

"Hanamichi, please sit down."

"Understanding the situation on the field and carefully observing the game is very important."

"You know, you can only win if you know yourself and your opponent well. Watching a match is also a way to improve your own abilities. Watch carefully, we'll need you later."

"Huh? Really?"

Hearing that he would have to rely on himself in the game, Sakuragi obediently sat down on the bench and focused on observing the game.

Ayako gave Hana a thumbs up, silently saying – You're still the master monkey trainer!

During the second quarter break, Rukawa returned to the court expressionlessly, but his slender eyes seemed to be glancing at a certain spot, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

No one noticed anything different about Rukawa, but Ayako keenly looked in the direction he was looking.