Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

After training, most of the lights in the Shohoku basketball gym went out.

Takenori Akagi and Kiminobu Kogure walked out of the basketball gym together and headed towards the school gate.

Kogure spoke first, adjusting his glasses, his tone tinged with a wry smile: "In that match just now, I, a senior, actually lost to a first-year student. I feel a bit embarrassed."

In the recent intra-squad practice match, Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede took turns on the court. One relied on his inside strength and rebounding, while the other relied on his technique and speed, completely disrupting the senior students' defense. Kogure himself was beaten by Rukawa two or three times, the first time without even touching the hem of his shirt.

As for Sakuragi, that guy was even more well-rounded, excelling on both offense and defense, making the senior team suffer immensely for five minutes.

Akagi kept a straight face and didn't speak. His chin was slightly raised, and he stared straight ahead, his expression no different from usual—serious, tense, as if he were contemplating some important life matter.

Kogure glanced at him sideways.

The two had been playing basketball together since middle school and had known each other for several years. At this moment, although Akagi's lips were pressed down low, Kogure noticed the slight twitching in the corner of his eye and the subtle movement of his Adam's apple bobbing up and down before he held it back.

"Keep pretending," Kogure chuckled, his tone relaxed. "Laugh if you want. After all these years, don't I know you?"

Akagi paused for a moment.

He turned his face, his lips already uncontrollably curving upwards. He tried to press his lips down, but couldn't, and they bounced back up again.

"Am I that obvious?" Akagi's voice was still in that deep tone, but the ending note rose a little.

Kogure smiled and said, "This year, the basketball team has two super rookies. Making it to the national tournament in our final year of high school might not be a dream anymore."

He spoke calmly, but his eyes behind his glasses lit up. The April night breeze ruffled his hair slightly.

Akagi nodded.

"Yes," he said, his voice deep, "this year our team has made up for its weaknesses. Once Miyagi is discharged from the hospital and returns to the team, making it to the national tournament will no longer be an unattainable dream."

The two walked out of the school gate side by side. The streetlights cast long shadows of them, stretching all the way to the base of the low wall across the street.

A few bicycle bells rang out in the distance, jingling softly, but were quickly carried away by the wind.

At the same moment, the lights were still on in the basketball gymnasium of Ryonan High School.

Having just finished training, the team members sat in twos and threes on the benches to change their shoes. Some wiped their sweat with towels, while others drank water.

Coach Taoka Shigeichi stood in the center of the court, clapped his hands, and his voice echoed in the empty arena: "Gather together, I have something to tell you."

Seeing his teammates gather around, Taoka put his hands behind his back, stood up straight, and cleared his throat: "I've arranged a practice match with Coach Anzai from Shohoku next weekend. Get ready."

Upon hearing the words "Shohoku," Jun Uozumi's eyes lit up immediately.

"Akagi... I must defeat him this time."

He remembered last year's game clearly. Akagi Takenori was going head-to-head with him under the basket, their muscles clashing. Although Shohoku lost in the end, Akagi's stats were better, and he successfully limited him in the paint. Uozumi felt his teeth itch just thinking about that dark face.

Taoka nodded, then, as if remembering something, added, "Oh, right, Sakuragi went to Shohoku for high school. We'll run into him in this practice match."

When Taoka said "Sakuragi," the name carried a complex flavor that he himself couldn't quite explain.

There is regret, there is heartache, and there is a sense of resentment that "I clearly had my eye on something, but someone else took it from me."

"what?"

When the Ryonan team members heard that Sakuragi had gone to Shohoku, they were all stunned. They had trained together last summer and never expected to become rivals so soon.

Taoka Shigeichi did not continue speaking.

He felt a chill in his heart.

Mitsui Hisashi was the one he had his eye on. He went to Shohoku.

He set his sights on Miyagi Ryota. He went to Shohoku.

Rukawa Kaede, he tried his best to dig for him. But he still ended up going to Shohoku.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, that red-haired monkey with freakish physical talent, also went to Shohoku.

Not one was left out. They all went to Xiangbei.

Taoka took a deep breath. The night wind blew in through the ventilation window of the stadium, making a few strands of hair stand up on the back of his head.

His current mood is like someone who orders a table full of dishes at a restaurant, but Coach Anzai at the next table does nothing and brings all the dishes to him.

envious.

Hey.

hatred.

Taoka turned around, his face regaining the composure expected of a coach, and instructed his players, "That's enough for today. Dismissed. Everyone, keep your spirits up this weekend. We must defeat Shohoku."

On the other side, at the entrance of Shohoku High School.

The streetlights cast the shadows of the two people on the ground, one long and one short, very close together.

Yuri Yanai held onto Sakuragi's arm. The two had long since synchronized their paces; she took a step with her left foot while he took a step with his right, but with their arms linked, they walked quite smoothly.

The wind blew her school uniform skirt up a little, but she pressed it back down with her hand.

Sakuragi's arm, which was being held, was stiff as an iron rod, but he had improved a lot compared to last year. At least his face didn't turn completely red at first, but slowly, layer by layer, reddened, like watercolor paint spreading in water.

A few strands of Yanai's hair were blown by the wind and brushed against Sakuragi's upper arm, tickling him. Sakuragi resisted the urge to scratch.

"Was training tiring today?" Yanai asked casually.

Sakuragi immediately straightened his back a little: "Of course I'm not tired from my genius performance."

Yanai glanced at him sideways. "I just didn't expect that Rukawa Kaede, the one who eliminated you last year, would now be your teammate."

Sakuragi's face darkened instantly: "That stinky fox..."

The two walked along the roadside for a while. The cherry blossom trees by the roadside had already sprouted new leaves, tender and green, which shimmered with a faint yellow light under the streetlights.

Thinking about the upcoming game between Shohoku and Ryonan next weekend, Yuri Yanai subconsciously glanced down at Sakuragi's feet.

The sneakers I gave him were already worn out. Several pieces of leather had been worn away from the toe, revealing the grayish-black lining underneath.

The stitching on the upper of the shoe came undone in two places, and it had been glued back together with some kind of glue, leaving a dried, transparent mark.

I've been wearing these shoes since last summer, and they're pretty worn out now.

Yanai withdrew her gaze, looked up at the front, and said casually, "Um, Hanamichi, after school on Friday, come shopping with me."

"Huh?" Sakuragi was taken aback. "Going shopping?"

"Mm!" Yanai nodded, tightening her grip on his arm.

"Okay...no problem." Sakuragi scratched his head, his red hair swaying in the wind.

Yanai smiled contentedly, leaning her head against Sakuragi's shoulder, her hair brushing against his chin, tickling him.

The streetlights moved backward one by one, casting long, long shadows of the two people on the ground.