Chapter 9 Homegrown Cabbage

Rukawa Kaede fell silent for a moment, his light-colored, glassy eyes staring straight at him.

"...I'm going to wash the lunchboxes."

"Okay, you've just finished eating, so rest for a while first. Don't rush to practice."

"Um."

A soft male voice came from behind me.

Sakuragi entered the stadium and saw this scene—

The distance between the two was just right; they seemed intimate, but not excessive. Hanon smiled and shared something with Rukawa, who would also look over and nod in response.

The alarm blared, and Sakuragi shouted, "This genius is here!"

We absolutely cannot let some vixen steal our own cabbage!

The two looked at him simultaneously, perfectly in sync.

The red-haired monkey grew even angrier: "What are you looking at, you stinky fox!"

The fox, with a blank face, said: "Idiot."

Hanon looked up, glanced at her watch, closed the basketball magazine in her hand, and smiled at the two of them, saying:

"Alright, practice time! Let's begin training."

"Um."

"Alright! This genius is going to practice!"

The monkey and the fox spoke in unison.

They exchanged a glance, both expressing their disdain, and exclaimed, "Tch!"

They ran off to their respective halves of the field.

Hanon sat on the sidelines, continuing to watch the two practice.

…

The number of spectators around the basketball court is increasing.

Girls only pay attention to Rukawa Kaede.

The boys, on the other hand, focused their attention on a certain spot on the sidelines.

Haruko: "Wow...it seems our basketball team is getting a lot of attention!"

Sakuragi proudly said, "Hehe, everyone's here to watch this genius practice."

Ayako shrugged. "You're overthinking it! But it does have something to do with you, though."

Sakuragi smugly said, "As expected, it's because of me, hahaha..."

Ayako said coldly, "The boys all came to see your sister."

Sakuragi stopped grinning and looked around warily: "Who? Does someone want to do something to my sister? I'll give them a powerful headbutt right now!"

Seeing the noisy arena, Rukawa Kaede glanced at it expressionlessly.

His gaze lingered on Hana's face for a moment, and a slight ripple appeared in her usually indifferent eyes.

Hana met his gaze, smiled slightly, and waved to him.

Rukawa Kaede withdrew his gaze, dribbled the ball, and accelerated towards the basket—

A beautiful jump shot.

[Ah! Rukawa Kaede! Rukawa Kaede! So handsome!]

Rukawa was immediately overjoyed, and they huddled together, screaming incoherently.

"...No! I'm going to kick them all out and lock the door!" Sakuragi rolled up his sleeves, ready to take action.

The fox nodded slightly, a rare gesture of agreement.

Kanon stopped Sakuragi, trying to calm him down: "Kanon, you need to learn to handle these situations. During matches, there will be even more people and more noise. What will we do then?"

Sakuragi rested his chin on two fingers, pondered for a moment, then suddenly grinned: "You're right! From now on, the stadium will be packed with people coming to watch this genius play, hahaha..."

As he thought about it, Sakuragi became smug and couldn't stop smiling.

Shohoku members: ...

The fox, its face expressionless, coldly commented: "What an idiot."

Sakuragi picked up the ball and began his daily basic practice.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The rhythmic dribbling sounds echoed in the stadium, attracting the attention of Haruko and the others.

Compared to his stiff performance a few days ago, Sakuragi's dribbling now showed great ease.

Haruko was always the first to notice Sakuragi's progress, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Amazing! Sakuragi is so amazing!"

"Hehehe! This genius practices diligently every day..."

Kogure nudged Akagi beside him with his elbow: "Wow, Sakuragi's level is good enough to participate in team practice, right, Akagi?"

Akagi, still a little embarrassed, said stiffly, "Well, it's barely acceptable!"

"Yay! That's amazing!"

The group cheered.

Compared to the tedious and boring technical training, the group sparring is relatively more entertaining.

With a whistle, the ball flew out, and all the players except the center who was vying for the ball ran towards the halfway line. Sakuragi got the ball and rushed forward, cutting directly into the penalty area.

"Sakuragi is so fast!"

What surprised everyone even more was that, in the blink of an eye, the ball swished and went in!

Sakuragi easily made the layup!

Everyone's mouths formed an "O" shape. "Ayako... Sakuragi, when did you learn to lay up?"

"incredible!"

"Hasn't he always been doing the groundwork on the sidelines?"

"I don't know either..."

Ayako was equally astonished. She nudged Kanon beside her and asked, "When did you learn that?"

Hanon laughed and said, "This is all thanks to Haruko; she gave Sakuragi extra training."

"Hmph! A super genius like me is not someone that ordinary people can stop! Hahaha..."

The enthusiastic response from the crowd made Sakuragi quite smug, and his confident "hahaha" laughter echoed throughout the entire stadium.

Haruko exclaimed in admiration, "Sakuragi is amazing! Keep it up!"

Encouraged by Haruko, Sakuragi felt like his heart was about to explode, his blood rushed to his whole body, and even the roots of his ears felt like they were on fire.

"It's all thanks to Haruko... Hahaha... I've been practicing the little guy layup you taught me every day... Hehehe~"

Recalling their sweet training session in the park, Sakuragi's heart fluttered with pink bubbles...

Akagi snapped out of his daze and roared, "Kid! Don't get cocky. I won't let you score so easily again. Come on! Everyone, keep going!"

"yes!"

Next—

"Damn it! Why did you steal my ball!"

"Wow, you gorilla! You've covered my hotpot again! That's too much!"

"...Here we go again! Why are you targeting me?!"

Sakuragi's basketball, which he had just gotten his hands on, was snatched away before he could even put it up for a layup.

"Clang!" The ball hit the rim again and bounced up.

[Hanamichi, do you know what a rebound is?]

You're a natural rebounding king!

Recalling the look on her face when Kanon taught him how to rebound—

That was an overwhelming sense of pride and arrogance towards him.

Sakuragi took a deep breath, suppressing his inner rage, and stared sharply at the ball.

This is a second chance to attack!

Akagi looked at Sakuragi beside him, momentarily unable to react. What was this idiot trying to do?

Before he could react, Sakuragi appeared in front of him in a flash.

"Watch this! Rebounding genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he sprang up like a spring, accurately grabbed the rebound in mid-air, and then landed steadily.

Wow... Sakuragi... grabbing the rebound!

"Sakuragi jumped way too high! He jumped even higher than Captain Akagi!!"

The boys were once again amazed by Sakuragi's performance. Time and again, Sakuragi's jumps and rapid progress left a deep impression on everyone.

Rukawa Kaede's pupils dilated slightly, his narrow eyes filled with surprise.

With skillful dribbling, layups, and rebounding, the idiot's progress in just a few days was unexpectedly rapid!

In competitive sports, talent is paramount, but while talent is important, personal effort and excellent guidance are equally crucial.

What talents and skills did the person who mentored him possess that enabled him to progress so rapidly?

Unconsciously, Rukawa Kaede's gaze drifted towards the sidelines—

Their eyes met.

Those light-colored eyes seemed to be following Sakuragi... and him all the time.

Haruko exclaimed with admiration, "Yay! Sakuragi is amazing! He actually managed to snatch the rebound from his brother!"

Akagi paused for a moment, a slight smile appearing on his serious face. "This kid... he's quite unexpected, but..."

"However!" He caught up with Sakuragi, casually swatting the ball away, "You're still too green!"

Sakuragi exploded again, "Wow! Gorilla, you've gone too far! You stole my ball again!"

Akagi: "Once you get the ball, protect it well and don't let anyone steal it from you easily!"

Rukawa Kaede, still expressionless, commented, "What an idiot."

Sakuragi pointed his finger at Rukawa: "What did you say, you stinky fox! This genius was just careless!"

"Oh ho ho ho~ Sakuragi-kun, this is quite a surprise."

Everyone heard that signature laugh, tinged with a hint of joy.

A plump but kind-looking white-haired old man stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he watched the game.

"It's Coach Anzai! The coach is here!"

Good afternoon, Coach!

"Oh ho ho ho... You guys keep fighting, don't worry about me."

Coach Anzai pushed up his glasses, noticed Kanon next to Ayako, and asked with a hint of doubt, "This student looks familiar?"

Kanon didn't hear him clearly, so she bowed to him along with Ayako, and then turned her attention back to the field.

"Idiot! How do you think you can possibly beat me like that!"

"That wretched gorilla!"

"Idiot! You're standing in the wrong spot! You need to turn around with your feet... Fool! That's a foul! You barbarian..."

Despite Akagi's stern attitude, he diligently guided Sakuragi in rebounding, imparting his positioning skills and experience without reservation.

Ayako clicked her tongue in amazement, "This is incredible! Sakuragi Hanamichi has only been playing basketball for a short time."

Hanon nodded, with pride, "He has a strong ability to learn; he absorbs knowledge like a sponge."

As expected, after careful consideration, Sakuragi successfully grabbed the rebound using the skills he learned from Akagi.

"Alright! This ball is mine! Xiao An! Fast break!"

After saying that, Sakuragi threw the ball forcefully, and the basketball instantly slipped from his hand, flying at high speed towards the audience on the sidelines, eliciting gasps of surprise.

"Ah—watch out!!"

Rukawa Kaede quickly looked in a certain direction on the sidelines and instinctively lunged towards the ball.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and panic ensued.

The orange-red ball, like a whirlwind, suddenly flew towards the sidelines.

Hanon instinctively reached out her hand, faster than the ball itself, and in the blink of an eye, the basketball stopped spinning in her hand.

Startled, Ayako instinctively stepped back, tripping over herself, but Kanon caught her by putting her other arm around her shoulder.

Amidst gasps of surprise, she caught the ball, but someone else caught it too.

The two are separated by only one ball.

Hanon's gaze followed the basketball to another large hand, and then along the hand to those beautiful yet sharp fox-like eyes.

Wow...she reacted so quickly!

All eyes were focused on the sidelines.

It's not uncommon for basketballs to lose control and hurtle towards the sidelines, but what really catches the eye is someone standing on the sidelines and effortlessly controlling the ball with just one hand.

Hanon stared at Rukawa Kaede's hand.

Her fingers were long and slender, and fair-skinned.

The back of his hand has prominent, strong blue veins.

After looking up and meeting eyes for two seconds, Rukawa Kaede was the first to look away and withdraw his hand.

"That ball almost hit me! Thank you, Kanon..."

Ayako recovered from the shock and looked at Hanon, who was holding her, and she felt a strange sense of security.

Ayako was full of curiosity about her. "But your fingers are so long! You can actually catch a basketball with one hand! That's amazing!"

Hua Yin glanced down at him, then smiled and said, "It's good that you're alright."

Unconsciously, Rukawa Kaede's gaze fell on that hand, and only after a few seconds did he abruptly look away.

He has no interest in girls and doesn't pay attention to other people's features.

Well, I should say I'm too lazy to observe.

Just like now, he's too lazy to even think about why he should look back.