"Damn gorilla!!"
Fueled by rage, Sakuragi lunged toward Akagi, attempting to steal the ball.
But Akagi coolly dribbled the ball behind his back, seamlessly transferring it to his left hand. Exploiting Sakuragi's clumsy imbalance, he surged past on the left side and stormed the lane.
"Ah—crap!!"
Sakuragi whirled around to block him, but it was too late. Akagi was already at the hoop.
He jumped—and with a smooth layup, the ball arced up and swished cleanly through the net.
"Woah!!"
The crowd burst into cheers.
"That makes seven goals already," Akagi taunted, tossing the ball back to Sakuragi and spreading his arms to defend. "Still haven't scored even once, rookie. Didn't you say basketball was just a simple game of pitching? Looks like you can't even handle a simple pitch."
Damn it!
Sakuragi clenched his fists, steam practically rising from his ears.
(Author's Note: In 1v1 half-court basketball, the ball goes to the defender after a score. The attacker must then start from behind the three-point line.)
"Hmph! I was just warming up," Sakuragi growled, catching the ball and dribbling aggressively. "Now, it's time for the real deal! Witness the true power of this genius!!"
With that, he charged into the paint.
Akagi instantly cut him off, looming like a wall with his imposing frame and absurd wingspan.
Left step—Akagi followed.
Right step—blocked again.
It was airtight defense.
"Damn it! Whatever!!"
With a yell, Sakuragi leaped and launched a desperate shot at the hoop.
"Wait—Hanamichi can shoot now?" Mito exclaimed from the sidelines, wide-eyed.
"Uh… depends on how you define 'shoot,'" Oliver muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Last I checked, he lands one shot out of every twenty. If he's lucky."
Sakuragi screamed midair, unleashing his shot. His form was wild, his balance off—it was pure guesswork.
"Innocent!"
Akagi roared, leaping effortlessly and swatting the ball away with a thunderous block.
"Bang!"
The crowd gasped.
"Damn it!!!"
Akagi calmly retrieved the ball and smirked. "This all you got? Stop pretending to be hot stuff. You're embarrassing yourself."
Dribbling with ease, Akagi crossed Sakuragi once again with a tight C-shaped move and scored another layup.
Then again.
And again.
Akagi kept scoring at will, piling on the humiliation.
The gym was electric, but Sakuragi was suffocating.
"One more shot left," Akagi said. "This game's over."
On the sideline, Haruko bit her lip, clearly distressed.
She didn't want either of them to lose—her brother or Sakuragi. The tension was tearing her apart.
What should I do...?
On the court, Sakuragi sank to his knees and slammed the floor in frustration.
"Why… why can't I stop him? I'm a genius! So why can't I win?!"
He looked around. The gym was full of eyes, all watching him with expectation—or worse, pity.
His confidence faltered.
Then he saw her—Haruko. She stood among the crowd, looking at him with such gentle concern.
"Haruko-sister…"
Memories flashed in his mind.
Those summer afternoons when they practiced dribbling together… cooling off with cold drinks after a tough workout… her laughter under the sun...
Those moments had meant everything.
Tears blurred his vision.
"Did you come to cheer me on...?"
He wiped his eyes and stood tall, his fighting spirit reigniting.
"Okay!! Even if it's just for Haruko-chan, I have to score one goal!! Just one!!"
A fiery aura of determination seemed to ignite around him, as if he were a warrior charging into battle.
"Don't just rush in!!" a voice shouted from the sideline.
Sakuragi looked over and saw Oliver cupping his hands like a megaphone. "Think! What did I teach you during training? How do you defend!?"
"Defense…? You taught me that?"
Sakuragi scratched his head.
Oliver nearly fell over. "Seriously!?"
You only remember the fun times with Haruko, huh?
Before he could think further, Akagi capitalized on Sakuragi's distraction and cleanly stole the ball.
"Hey! Pay attention!" Akagi snapped and sprinted past the three-point line.
Sakuragi chased after him.
"Think back, Sakuragi…" Oliver whispered. "You're a genius, right? Then remember!"
Sakuragi mumbled under his breath. "C'mon... memories, come back…"
But all he could picture was Haruko in different poses: playing basketball, sipping soda, tying her shoelaces…
"Damn it! All I can think of is Haruko-chan being cute!!"
He tugged at his hair in frustration.
"You can do this, Sakuragi… You can remember!"
He tried again—this time more focused.
It was that sunny day on the baseball field... Haruko was wearing white sportswear… she smiled at me and said...
"Sakuragi-kun, your arms are so wide! You'll definitely be a great defender!"
In that memory, Haruko was beaming and pinching his arm playfully.
"Really? Hahaha! Of course, I'm a genius!" he had said at the time.
Then Oliver's voice chimed in, back from that same day.
"Yeah, with Hanamichi's wingspan, he'll give short players a hard time even without knowing much technique."
But then… Oliver had paused.
"What do I do against someone taller and stronger...?" Sakuragi muttered.
That was when Oliver had said something important. But…
Sakuragi clutched his head.
"I didn't listen! I just wanted to be alone with Haruko... I pushed Oliver away…"
His thoughts were interrupted by Akagi.
"This is the last one, rookie!! I'm ending this!!"
Akagi charged toward the basket like a runaway train.
"No!! I won't let you!!"
Sakuragi roared and chased after him.
He couldn't let Akagi score. Not in front of Haruko. Not like this.
"Stop right there!!"
Sakuragi lunged and grabbed Akagi around the waist.
"Thud!!"
They collided—two giants clashing at full force—and both crashed to the ground in a tangled heap.
Silence fell across the gym.
Sakuragi opened his eyes, rubbing his head.
"Oww… that gorilla's still strong even while falling…"
Then his eyes widened.
Right in front of him was—Akagi's butt.
And… his shorts were down.
A collective gasp erupted from the crowd.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Sakuragi's scream echoed through the rafters.
"I—I just pantsed the gorilla… IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!!!"
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