Chapter 49 The Peacock Spreads Its Tail

"There's nothing special about it, but recently, Kana Yumi from Class 5 has been coming to see Rukawa quite often."

Hanako looked over.

Sure enough, Kana was seen wearing a pink battle dress inspired by "Rukawa Mikoto," standing on the sidelines, passionately and sizzling as she danced a thigh-high dance.

Noticing someone watching her, Kana smiled slightly and even puffed out her impressive curves.

Ayako squinted at Kanon, then couldn't help but giggle.

"What's with this jealousy, young lady? Rukawa remained indifferent, ignoring everyone who confessed to him, refusing to accept their love letters or water!"

Her mood instantly brightened, and Hana's lips curled into a slight smile.

Her gaze remained fixed on Rukawa Kaede's face; having not seen him for a week, she couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Just then, Rukawa Kaede turned around, and their eyes met in mid-air.

Hana smiled, her eyes crinkling. Rukawa paused subtly, then coldly looked away.

Who is she looking at, with such a beautiful smile?

Rukawa Kaede scanned the field but didn't find any particularly impressive plays or players.

The second half of the match almost became a one-man show for Rukawa Kaede.

He ran like a cheetah, swift and fierce, his black and white tracksuit drawing a sharp arc in the air.

Rukawa Kaede dribbled into the opponent's area, beating two defenders in succession.

The opposing team's inside players quickly retreated to defend, and Rukawa Kaede entered the three-second zone, took a running start, and jumped with explosive power.

"Wow—" came a shout from the sidelines.

That resolute and determined aura made all three people defending Rukawa Kaede jump up with all their might.

All I saw was—

Rukawa Kaede turned sideways in mid-air, swaying his body as he tossed the ball through the gap between the defender's arms.

Although the ball's trajectory in the air was incredibly graceful, everyone knew that the angle of that shot was simply not good enough to go in.

But just as Rukawa landed, he suddenly accelerated, quickly sidestepped the defender on his left, jumped up, caught the ball that bounced off the rim in mid-air, and slammed it in.

With a loud "bang," the backboard almost shattered!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The audience on the sidelines stared wide-eyed, and then the whole stadium erupted in cheers.

But Rukawa's expression remained indifferent, unaffected by the frenzied screams. Only when his gaze swept over a certain corner did his eyes show a slight fluctuation.

Hana's heartbeat rhythm is out of control—

Rukawa Kaede.

He's ridiculously handsome!

A cold and aloof appearance.

He was arrogant and invincible when it came to basketball, his eyes filled with pure passion and fervor.

His stark contrast between hot and cold made it impossible for Hanon to breathe.

No one can resist things that have a sense of contrast.

He was the most contrasting person she had ever met.

I enjoy the feeling of being completely trampled on.

As Miyagi passed by Ayako, he curled the corner of his mouth and said, "Why didn't I realize before that this kid loved to show off so much?"

Like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

Ayako rolled her eyes. "What kind of charm do you have that makes him want to show off in front of you?"

Miyagi looked aggrieved, "Aya is right..."

After a few rounds, the players couldn't take it anymore. They weakly grabbed their jerseys to wipe their sweat and gasped for breath.

"Rukawa is really too scary, I can't stand it!"

"How come they're playing even more aggressively than in those county tournament matches?"

"That's because there's someone you like watching on the field, so you have to show off a little."

Given the atmosphere between Kanon and Rukawa, most of the Shohoku team members understand.

After the match, Rukawa Kaede dragged his tired body to the sidelines, where Kana ran up to him with a bottle of water and handed it to him generously.

Rukawa Kaede simply bypassed it.

Hanon smiled, picked up her drink, and walked towards Rukawa.

As I approached, I heard Kana's soft voice: "Rukawa-kun, that dunk you just made was so cool!"

Hanon paused, noticing Rukawa Kaede's furrowed brows, looking somewhat displeased.

Kana glanced at Hanon but ignored her, focusing all her attention on Rukawa Kaede and even taking a few steps closer to him.

"Junior, I didn't see you eating lunch today. The bento I made was really delicious. Do you want me to bring you some next time?"

This sounds familiar...

Rukawa stood still, glancing at Kanon out of the corner of his eye.

With a single step, as she handed him the drink, Hanon pushed Rukawa back a few steps, standing firmly between the two of them. "Drink your drink."

Rukawa Kaede obediently stepped back and took the drink from her hand.

Kana could sense that the moment Kanon arrived, Rukawa's demeanor completely changed, becoming joyful.

But she didn't give up and forced a conversation: "Junior, so you like sports drinks?"

Kanon: "No, I just happen to have a drink on me."

Kana then asked, "Is there anything you like to drink? I'll prepare it for you next time."

Hanon: "No need, the stadium has them all."

Kana finally looked at Kanon: "Are you two close?"

Hana nodded frankly: "Better than you."

Kana was choked: "..."

Of course she knew that Kanon was a member of the basketball team, but she didn't expect that Kanon, who seemed gentle and easy to talk to, was actually a troublemaker.

Kana smoothed her hair and smiled elegantly: "Rukawa-kun, don't train too late. See you tomorrow!"

After saying that, she glanced at Hana and calmly left.

A faint scent of perfume wafted over her. Hana watched her graceful figure from behind, then looked up at Rukawa Kaede and asked, "Was the drink good?"

Rukawa Kaede swallowed the water, tightened the bottle cap, casually wiped the water droplets from the corner of his mouth, and his voice automatically escaped: "...Mmm."

"Which tastes better, the beverage or the water?"

Rukawa Kaede looked down at her.

Hua Yin glared at him, her lips pursed slightly.

Rukawa Kaede stood there silently, like a child who had been scolded for doing something wrong.

Hua Yin looked at him for a moment, then chuckled softly.

Like a feather, it brushed against Rukawa's ear, tickling him and making him want to touch it.

The Breakup Alliance secretly observed their interactions.

Mitsui clicked his tongue and shook his head: "That kid Rukawa, I never would have guessed, he has quite the potential to be henpecked."

Miyagi's eyebrows were practically pointing to his hairline: "Shohoku's ace has really fallen."

Hanon exclaimed, "That dunk you just made was so cool!"

The fox's ears twitched.

Was she looking at him the whole time?

It must be, otherwise why would someone say that?

Rukawa Kaede straightened his back and deliberately placed his gaze on her chin, creating a pretense of demure politeness.

Hanon stated frankly, "However, this move is too flashy and I don't recommend using it on the field, as it easily depletes physical strength."

Rukawa Kaede: ...?

Rukawa Kaede remained silent, turning his face away and presenting the back of his head to her.

Hua Yin leaned closer to him, looking at him strangely, "Are you unhappy?"

Rukawa Kaede stood there, without saying a word.

Hua Yin asked again, but he still didn't respond. She couldn't help but ask once more, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

Her voice was gentle and soft, as if she were coaxing him.

Rukawa Kaede's hair stood on end, and he couldn't suppress the joy welling up inside him.

Suddenly remembering that she didn't like him, he forced himself to suppress this bittersweet feeling.

Rukawa Kaede remained indifferent for a moment before answering, "No."

"Oto-chan!"

Aya called her name from the other end of the line.

Seeing Coach Anzai arrive, Kanon had no choice but to put her questions aside and said, "I'll go find the coach first."

Rukawa Kaede stared intently at her retreating figure, his gaze intense.

Back at the basketball gym that evening, only Sakuragi was practicing. Around 10 PM, Kanon couldn't help but ask, "Hanamichi, where's Rukawa?"

Sakuragi wasn't sure: "They went home, didn't they?"

Hua Yin was stunned for a moment, then quickly composed herself and said with a smile, "Then let's go home too, and have a good match tomorrow."

Hanon felt a little depressed.

Rukawa Kaede went home, but... he didn't tell her.

He felt he was being overly sentimental, but he had no obligation to tell her.

…

The next day, at the meeting point.

Sakuragi waved excitedly to the team: "This genius is here!"

Rukawa Kaede put one hand in his pocket and looked over expressionlessly.

Even from a distance, before Huayin could react, he had already looked away.

Hana walked up to him and noticed the dark circles under his eyes. She frowned slightly. "Rukawa, why are your dark circles so heavy? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Rukawa Kaede gave a curt "hmm".

I felt a lump in my throat, and my whole body felt off.

He controlled his gaze and didn't look at Huayin again.

Ayako whispered, "Not just Rukawa, but also Akagi-senpai and Mitsui-senpai."

Hanon glanced at it and thought, "Isn't Xiangyang Team just a perennial runner-up? Is everyone really that nervous?"

She tried to speak several times, but Rukawa Kaede avoided her gaze.

Kanon didn't get a chance to speak to Rukawa Kaede until they boarded the train.

Once on the tram, Rukawa Kaede squeezed himself between Ishii and Kuwata to sit down.

Ayako pulled on Kanon's arm: "Kane-chan, don't just stand there, sit down."

Hanon quickly adjusted her mood, her smile bright, and sat down next to Ayako.

[Shohoku! Shohoku! Shohoku!]

【Fujima! Fujima! Fujima! 】

More than two-thirds of the seats in the stands were filled with boys wearing Shohoku jerseys, creating a refreshing white and green color scheme.

Holding empty plastic bottles, they chanted loud slogans under the leadership of their team leader, exuding an imposing aura.

Yohei was dumbfounded. "Shohoku's cheerleading squad, are they that famous?"

Haruko shook her head: "These aren't cheerleaders, they're all substitute players from Shohoku."

"What? These...are all substitute players?"

"That's terrifying! And look at Shohoku... uh, they can't even field three teams."

"That's already very good! I heard that the Shohoku basketball team used to only have two players..."

"...Won't we suffer a crushing defeat today?"

Takamiya munched on his snacks, saying, "Whatever, we're already here, so let's cheer Hanamichi on loudly."

Noma didn't have much hope either. "Yeah, yeah, this is the first time that I've ever shown my face in the prefectural tournament!"

Da Nan, resting his chin on his hand, said, "This is probably the last time!"

Rukawa, unconvinced, glanced at the audience. "Sisters! We absolutely cannot lose in spirit! Shout out our slogans—"

[Rukawa Kaede! Rukawa Kaede!]

【LOVE Rukawa Kaede!】

Rukawa's outfit consisted of a uniform pink skirt, which contrasted sharply with the green uniforms of the Shohoku cheerleaders, creating a scene reminiscent of green leaves setting off a red flower.

"Wow, Rukawa, you're so popular!"

Kanon was shocked. Rukawa's development was so rapid and powerful that he had even taken up a portion of the audience seats!

Rukawa Kaede quickly looked at her, silently letting his gaze sweep across her face without leaving a trace.

Ayako laughed heartily: "Who can resist the 188cm tall, handsome, and exceptionally promising top player from Shohoku!"

Rukawa Kaede: "It's noisy."

Others didn't notice these details at all, and Kanon usually wouldn't pay much attention to them either, but she noticed them today.