Chapter 99 Reunion After a Short Separation
Inside the stadium, the roar of the music foreshadowed the intense competition to come.
Kitahara Ransuke exclaimed excitedly, "The atmosphere here is so exciting! Sannoh's popularity is truly extraordinary. The match hasn't even started yet, and the atmosphere is already so exhilarating!"
He deftly pulled a video camera from his backpack, set up the tripod, adjusted the angle, and prepared to record.
Kanon leaned back lazily with her hands folded on the railing, a faint smile on her face. "Indeed, the cheers are even more enthusiastic than those for the Kanagawa Prefecture finals."
However, these crazy voices are only for Sannoh Industrial.
At the start of the game, Owada won the jump ball, Fukatsu made a long pass to Sawakita, and Sawakita dunked the ball. The whole process took only 5 seconds.
Kitahara Ransuke gasped, "Sannoh's offensive rhythm is lightning fast!"
Facing a team like Sannoh, Shohoku's speed advantage seemed less significant.
He looked at Hanon and noticed that she didn't seem as worried as he was. "You don't seem surprised?"
Hanon gently shook her head. "After all, they've won three consecutive national championships, so their strength is to be expected. However, in basketball, teamwork and strategy are even more important."
The nation's top high school student—Eiji Sawakita.
His overall ability should be the strongest in the team, but at this moment, Zebei has not fully demonstrated his strength.
Kitahara Ransuke nodded, his opinion of Kanon rising even higher.
It's easy for people to focus only on Hanon's beauty and temperament, thus overlooking her basketball skills and knowledge.
The game is suspended.
Back in the rest area, Zebei unscrewed the water bottle and took a big gulp.
Owada walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Sawakita, leave the rest of the matches to us."
Zebei lazily grunted and continued swallowing his drink.
This team is really not very good; it's more suitable for developing substitute players. The more he played, the more bored he became, and he even grew impatient.
Just then, Coach Domoto suddenly turned to Sawakita and pointed to the top tier of the stands, saying, "Sawakita, you can't be substituted yet."
Zebei looked puzzled and turned his head. In the backlight, he saw a tall figure.
girl?
He looks to be over 1.8 meters tall?!
"She is the assistant coach for the Shohoku basketball team in Kanagawa Prefecture."
The Sannoh members looked over curiously, "This girl from Kanagawa is so tall?"
Xiangbei?
The newly crowned champions of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Recently, the Shohoku team's hot team has arrived in Akita Prefecture, which they naturally know about.
However, they only heard that the Shohoku team aimed to dominate the nation, but they had not heard of the Shohoku team's basketball assistant coach.
Coach Domoto explained: "Before becoming an assistant coach for Shohoku, Kanon was hailed as the female player closest to NBA level in the United States, and was even praised by the godfather of basketball as a new coach."
Under the light, the other person's face slowly appeared, and Zebei was stunned.
It was an extremely delicate face, with long hair tied up.
A very pretty girl.
However, Zebei could see a seasoned edge in her light-colored eyes, like a sharp blade ready to be drawn at any moment, its cold light flashing, ready to deliver a fatal blow.
Coach Domoto continued, "Originally, she should have finished high school in the United States, joined the NACC, and then become a key player on the national team. But now, she has joined Shohoku. I think she has come for the national championship."
Zebei's fingertips trembled slightly, his warlike instincts stirring within him.
"Zebei, your performance just now was less than half of what you usually practice."
The members of the Mountain King's group felt a tightness in their chests, unsure of what was going on.
Coach Domoto's gaze fell on Kanon again, heavy and solemn. "I don't want her to look down on Sannoh. Since we'll be meeting in the national league sooner or later, there's no need for us to pretend to hold back our strength."
The Sannoh team never expected that Coach Domoto would care about the other party's opinion!
The timeout was very short, and Zebei returned to the court.
In the next match, Kanon saw Sannoh at 100% condition.
Her gaze grew increasingly focused, intently watching every movement and expression of the players on the field, analyzing the course of the game and the strategies employed.
Unlike the storyline, Sannoh Industrial is faster and stronger.
As the final whistle blew, Sannoh Industrial won the game with an overwhelming advantage, the huge score difference was astonishing.
Kitahara Ransuke stared in disbelief: "This... is too exaggerated! Sawakita is really at the top of the pyramid... Shohoku will be under immense pressure if they see the video!"
Since it's at the top, there's only one person.
Hanon smiled slightly, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the railing. "No, I think Fengfeng and Hanamichi will be very... excited when they see the video."
The strong are never afraid of the strong.
Hanon spoke again, calmly and casually: "Shohoku is determined to stand at the top!"
She knew very well that during this period, Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi had both possessed 100% talent and put in 100% effort.
With her addition, their strength will be maximized.
As Kitahara Ransuke looked at Hanon, a sense of anticipation welled up in his heart.
"Let's go, next stop, Hakata University of Commerce Affiliated School."
That was after Sannoh defeated Shohoku, and they became the number one team in the country.
***
During lunch break, the Xiangbei Gymnasium quietly transformed into a temporary qualifying training camp.
Turning a poor student into a top student is not something that can be done overnight.
After a week of continuous coaching, the faces of the outstanding legion members were filled with gloom.
"Rukawa Kaede! Wake up!!!"
Aya's roar echoed throughout the stadium.
Originally, Ayako thought that Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had seven red lights, would be the most troublesome, but she soon discovered that Rukawa Kaede was the real troublesome brat!
Sakuragi's problem is that his thoughts are always like a wild horse, difficult to control. But to deal with him, Haruko is all you need.
And what about Rukawa Kaede?
With the review materials placed on the table, he instantly fell asleep, as if a flood had broken out.
Ayako had smashed several paper fans in her hands, but Rukawa seemed to be getting more and more resilient.
Sakuragi was so startled by Ayako's high-pitched voice that he almost jumped up. He picked at his ear and muttered, "Tch~! This fox is such a sleepyhead, she can sleep even more than a pig."
Miyagi chewed on his pen, looking puzzled: "Ah, why can Rukawa sleep so much?"
It's not that he didn't want to help Ayako, but Rukawa Kaede beat him up quite a few times because of his morning grumpiness... and then Ayako felt sorry for him, so she didn't let him get involved... hehe!
Mitsui rested his chin on his hand and analyzed earnestly, "Probably, his body knows he needs to develop a brain, so it automatically adjusted his sleep time so much."
Akagi's forehead veins bulged as he roared in exasperation, "Stop spouting nonsense, you three! Why is it that after all this tutoring, this knowledge still won't stick in your heads?! So, you guys don't even have brains, do you?!"
The three academic underachievers pouted, turned their heads away, and pretended not to hear.
"Hey, Yin Yin?!" Ayako suddenly shouted, as if she had found a savior.
Rukawa Kaede, who had been lying face down on the table, suddenly raised his head and searched for his target.
Those fox-like eyes went through a phase of focus, seriousness, confusion, and finally, drowsiness.
Seeing that Rukawa was about to turn into a sleeping beauty again, Ayako quickly took action: "Hey Rukawa, is Otoko planning to go to the US with you?"
"Um."
Rukawa Kaede blinked his dry eyes, trying to stay awake.
Seeing this, Ayako added fuel to the fire, squinting her eyes and smiling, "Otoko is so popular in the US, there must be a lot of boys hitting on her, right?"
The hazy fox-like eyes instantly turned sharp.
Ayako pulled out his little test paper and said sarcastically, "Tsk tsk tsk, look at this English score, second to last in the grade. He chose C for all the multiple-choice questions, got ten right, and scored 20 points. Not bad at all!"
"Oh ho ho ho~ Even if Yinyin chats with American boys, you won't be bothered, right? After all, you can't understand English at all."
Rukawa Kaede was successfully provoked, his expression turning icy: "Senior, please take care of me."
Ayako stood with her hands on her hips, nodded, and was very satisfied with Rukawa's politeness.
Now that Rukawa had become determined, Ayako also became serious. So, she picked up the review notes that Akagi had painstakingly obtained from the teacher and began to explain them to Rukawa earnestly.
Inspired, Akagi turned to Sakuragi and used reverse psychology to provoke him: "Look, even Rukawa is starting to work hard. Your basketball skills are already at the bottom. Do you also want to be at the bottom of the class in exams and become the weakest player on the team?"
Sakuragi jumped up, spurred on, and declared with boundless pride, "How could this genius be tripped up by a mere exam! Rukawa, watch how I crush you this time!"
"idiot!"
"Shut up! If you only know two words, then this genius will allow you to call me a basketball genius!"
"That's five words: complete idiot."
"Ugh! I'm so angry! Wait, five? This is a problem I could solve like a genius! Five! Hahaha, I really am a genius!"
Rukawa Kaede stared blankly at his English textbook, a faint question rising in his mind: Do we still learn English numbers in high school?
Seeing the two first-graders' inexplicable fighting spirit, Mitsui and Miyagi also declared that they would study hard and not lose to the first-graders.
***
In the evening, a taxi stopped at the gate of Xiangbei School.
"Ah, we've finally arrived!"
After ten days of traveling by Shinkansen and taxi, the two finally returned to Kanagawa Prefecture.
Kitahara pointed out the car window, "Is someone here to pick you up?"
Huayin looked towards—
Rukawa Kaede, dressed in Shohoku's sports uniform, stood there slender with a fair complexion, looking incredibly cute.
However, it was a sleeping little fox.
Hana smiled and picked up her bag. "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
“No problem! Next time you need video recording, just call me! I’m a professional!” Kitahara handed her the bag full of videotapes, then waved goodbye. “I won’t get off the bus. Goodbye.”
"goodbye."
Rukawa Kaede was waiting at the school gate when Kanon walked quickly toward him.
The joy of reuniting after a short separation is evident in every footprint.
Hanon observed him silently.
Suddenly, Rukawa Kaede opened his eyes and stared straight at her.
After a moment of silence, the two spoke almost simultaneously.
Huayin smiled, "Are you awake?"
Rukawa Kaede's voice was as indifferent as ever, "You're back?"
He replied, "Mm."
She responded, "Yes."
After another second of silence, Hana's eyelashes curved into two thick rows, and Rukawa's lips curved into a barely perceptible arc.
He reached out and took her suitcase and the bag from her hand, then freed one hand to hold hers, asking, "Shall we go back and rest?"
“No,” Hanon shook her head, “I want to watch you practice.”
Rukawa Kaede didn't say anything more, just nodded simply, "Mm."
Rukawa Kaede walked very fast, and Kanon was almost dragged along by him.
It felt like there was wind speed in my ears.
He's grown taller in the last few months, and Hana suspects that it's probably all gone to his legs.
Hanon pursed her lips. Was this fox rushing to practice her ball skills?
Not only were they indifferent, but they were also not considerate at all.
Within minutes, the two arrived at the locker room door.
Rukawa Kaede pushed open the door and went inside.
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut behind Hanon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
