Sendoh Akira put away his usual carefree smile.
He looked at Uozumi with a seriousness Hikoichi had never seen before, as if a blazing fire had been lit within his eyes.
"Don't worry, Captain."
At that moment...
Hikoichi saw something called ambition in Sendoh's gaze.
As long as Sendoh was still here...
Ryonan's era wasn't over.
...
"Hikoichi?"
"Hey! What are you spacing out for?"
A deep, booming voice yanked Hikoichi violently out of his memories.
Outside the Osaka Prefectural Tournament venue.
Hikoichi instinctively looked up.
The first thing he saw wasn't a person—
It was a wall.
A towering young man in Toyotama High's uniform stood over him, looking down with a grin.
"A... Aki?"
Hikoichi's eyes widened in disbelief, his neck aching from looking so far upward.
Did this guy take growth hormones or something?
Is this really the kid who used to trail behind me everywhere in middle school?
Ohkawa Teruo looked down at him with a smug, lopsided smile.
"Long time no see, Hikoichi."
He gestured exaggeratedly at the height difference between them before letting out a theatrical sigh.
His tone reeked of humblebragging.
"Sigh... after I transferred schools in my second year of middle school, I suddenly hit a massive growth spurt."
"I shot up another twenty centimeters."
"It's honestly such a burden."
Teruo bent down until their faces were nearly level, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"But you..."
"You haven't changed at all."
"Still... exactly the same."
Veins bulged on Hikoichi's forehead.
Being patronized by someone who had once followed him around like a little brother instantly shattered his composure.
"Th-That's nonsense!"
"I've grown too!"
"I was two millimeters taller during last month's physical!"
"Two whole millimeters! Do you understand?!"
"I'm still growing!"
He stood on his tiptoes, desperately trying to make himself look more imposing, his face burning bright red.
"And another thing..."
Grinding his teeth, Hikoichi jabbed a finger toward Teruo's nose.
"So you've gotten taller..."
"And now you've gotten full of yourself too?"
"Don't forget!"
"You used to be the one following me around everywhere!"
"I was the one who taught you how to dribble!"
Teruo straightened up and curled his lip dismissively, looking at Hikoichi as though he were just another stranger.
"That was ancient history."
"I'm a starting player for Toyotama High now."
"The champions of Osaka."
"The past is the past."
"The present is the present."
He folded his arms confidently before casually changing the subject.
"By the way..."
"Did Ryonan qualify for the Inter-High?"
Hikoichi instantly deflated like a punctured balloon.
Lowering his head, he clenched the hem of his shirt tightly.
"...No."
"Huh?"
At that moment, another voice interrupted from the side.
It was casual.
Arrogant.
Filled with unmistakable contempt.
"Ryonan?"
"You mean... that school from Kanagawa?"
Hikoichi turned around.
A tall young man with slicked-back hair tied into a ponytail approached them.
His fierce eyes and intimidating aura made him look like the stereotypical delinquent villain.
"Kishimoto-senpai!"
Teruo quickly introduced him.
"This is Kishimoto Minori, the ace of our team."
"He's the one who taught me basketball."
He deliberately emphasized the next sentence.
"Real basketball."
"Not some childish playground game."
Hikoichi's fists clenched.
Real basketball?
What was I teaching back then? Marbles?
Kishimoto spat out the toothpick in his mouth before lazily sizing Hikoichi up from head to toe.
Then he let out a mocking snort.
"So..."
"There's a guy named Sendoh on your team, right?"
Hikoichi blinked.
"Y-You know Sendoh-senpai?"
Even one of Osaka's powerhouse schools knew his name?
The tiny spark of pride that had nearly gone out inside Hikoichi flared back to life.
See?!
That's what real reputation looks like!
Kishimoto pulled a wrinkled basketball magazine from his gym bag and casually flipped it open.
The pages rustled loudly.
"It's in here."
He pointed at the cover.
There was a full-page photograph of Sendoh holding the ball one-handed, his sharp eyes fixed straight ahead.
Across the cover, bold black lettering proclaimed—
[Ryonan's Genius Player—The Magnificent Magician, Sendoh Akira]
Hikoichi's eyes lit up.
His sister, Aida Yayoi, had written that article.
"A genius, huh?"
Kishimoto stared at the cover before slowly curling his lips into a sneer.
Jealousy and bitterness practically dripped from his expression.
"Very few players in Japan receive praise like this."
"And he's only a high school student."
He snapped the magazine shut as though it had dirtied his hands.
"It honestly makes me..."
"...ashamed of myself for ever wanting to face him in the Inter-High."
Hikoichi's smile froze.
It felt like someone had stuffed a fly into his mouth.
...
Kanagawa.
The seaside.
The salty breeze drifted gently across the glittering ocean.
Unlike Osaka's bustling streets...
Only the soothing rhythm of waves crashing against the rocks could be heard here.
Sendoh Akira sat on the seawall with a fishing rod in hand.
He looked like a retired old man peacefully enjoying life.
Yet the smile that usually lingered in his eyes was nowhere to be found.
His gaze was unfocused.
The float bobbed violently on the water.
A big fish had clearly taken the bait.
But he didn't even notice.
His thoughts remained trapped in that game.
That figure who had controlled every possession.
Those eyes...
Eyes even he hadn't been able to fully understand.
"...The Zone."
Sendoh murmured softly as he looked toward the endless blue horizon.
It felt...
Like standing before a tightly sealed door.
The faint light leaking through the crack...
Awakened a hunger unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
Even someone as easygoing as him...
Couldn't ignore that irresistible temptation.
"Makino Juro..."
"You've really given me one hell of a challenge."
Suddenly...
He smiled.
There was a blade hidden within that smile.
The sharpness belonging only to an apex predator.
...
Back in Osaka.
Hikoichi was trembling with rage.
His face had turned as red as liver.
Kishimoto didn't even bother looking at the short teenager.
Rolling the magazine into a tube, he lazily tapped it against his palm while speaking with utter disdain.
"So he couldn't even make the Inter-High."
"I guess he's nothing special after all."
"People have clearly been exaggerating."
"'The Magnificent Magician.'"
"'A genius.'"
"And yet he couldn't even make it out of the prefectural qualifiers?"
"Oh right..."
"Wasn't there also some MVP named Makino Juro?"
"If all he did was beat a weak team like Ryonan..."
"He can't be that impressive either."
"I guess Kanagawa basketball isn't all that."
"It's honestly irritating."
"Guys like that actually make magazine covers."
"The media really has no eye for talent these days."
Kishimoto shook his head in disappointment, wearing the expression of someone lamenting the decline of basketball.
"Who are you calling a weak team?!"
"And who are you calling trash?!"
Hikoichi finally exploded.
Enough was enough.
He charged forward.
Although he only reached Kishimoto's chest...
His momentum resembled a tiny lion whose tail had just been stepped on.
"Let me stop you right there!"
Hikoichi pointed straight at Kishimoto's nose, saliva flying everywhere as he unleashed a barrage of words.
"Who the hell do you think you are, you slick-haired, ponytailed loudmouth?!"
"And you think you're qualified to judge Sendoh-senpai?!"
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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