Chapter 012
On the basketball training court of Teiko's first-string team, Murasakibara's eyes carried their usual blank expression as he watched other players running layup drills. He muttered quietly to himself: "What's the point of this? Doing the same training routine over and over again." Looking down at the basketball in his hands, he casually tossed it toward the hoop without any real effort, and it swished cleanly through the net.
Midorima, practicing nearby, watched Murasakibara's lackadaisical movements and couldn't help but frown with disapproval. He spoke to Akashi, who was observing from the sideline: "Murasakibara seems increasingly bored with training lately. Shouldn't you say something to him about his attitude?"
"There's nothing that needs to be said. Murasakibara completes every training exercise adequately, though I understand he finds repetitive drills somewhat tedious," Akashi replied with his characteristic gentle smile, though his eyes showed subtle dissatisfaction with Murasakibara's behavior. If it had been any other player, Akashi would have immediately intervened with corrective guidance.
However, Murasakibara's situation was different from the others. While he frequently looked for excuses to slack off during training sessions, his natural basketball talent remained exceptional—arguably among the very best at Teiko Middle School. Even Captain Nijimura would face significant challenges in a one-on-one matchup against him.
"Murasakibara-san, I have something to discuss with you."
Murasakibara, who had been about to attempt another casual shot, heard Akashi's voice behind him and was immediately jolted from his drowsy state. He responded cautiously: "What is it, Akashi-chin? I've been training properly, haven't I?"
"Of course, I'm well aware of that," Akashi replied with mild reassurance. "A few days ago, we had a student transfer from the second-string to the first-string team. He's the same age as us—another first-year—and like you, he plays the center position. I was hoping you could serve as his instructor and help him adjust to first-string training standards."
Hearing this explanation, Murasakibara breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Oh, so that's what this is about. But don't we have you and Midorima-chin available? Why do you need me to do it?"
"I apologize, but Midorima and I have other responsibilities to handle today. Besides, since this student is also a center, I believe your guidance would be more valuable than ours," Akashi answered each of Murasakibara's questions with patient thoroughness.
"Hmm, okay then," Murasakibara responded slowly. "Since Akashi-chin is asking, I guess I can do it. Where is this person?"
Akashi had specifically chosen this task because he was tired of watching Murasakibara approach daily training as if he were simply completing mandatory homework, showing laziness at every opportunity. By giving him instructional responsibilities, Akashi hoped to instill some sense of purpose and accountability. "His name is Ranki Yun, and I'll have Momoi bring him over shortly."
After a few minutes, Momoi arrived with a tall, brown-haired boy in tow. "Atsushi, this is him—Ranki-san. He's your student for first-string instruction. This is Atsushi Murasakibara—you probably know about him already!"
"Of course I know about you. After all, during the middle school league tournament, Murasakibara-san became quite famous. Please take care of me," Ranki said, extending his hand with genuine friendliness.
Murasakibara looked slightly startled but shook the offered hand. As he studied Ranki's height, he thought to himself: 'This guy is really tall. Not as tall as me, but definitely taller than Mine-chin and Midorima-chin!'
Momoi continued her introduction: "Atsushi, Ranki-san played center position when he was on the second-string team, so you need to teach him properly. I'll leave you two to get started." She waved goodbye and headed off to her other duties.
"Okay, bye-bye," Murasakibara replied slowly, studying Ranki's impressive frame. The guy had to be around 180 centimeters tall—quite remarkable for a middle school student. (Though of course, Murasakibara was even taller himself.)
Ranki watched as Murasakibara's eyes seemed to zone out completely, clearly lost in thought. After they'd been standing there in awkward silence for thirty seconds, he finally asked: "Um, Murasakibara-san, how should we proceed with the training?"
"Huh? Training? Right..." Murasakibara's voice trailed off uncertainly.
At that moment, Akashi happened to pass by and noticed the situation. "You must be Ranki-san. Hello there."
"Hello, Akashi-san," Ranki replied with polite respect.
Seeing Akashi approach, Murasakibara immediately looked like he'd found his salvation. "Hey, Akashi-chin, what kind of training should we do next? I'm worried that our regular first-string routine might be too overwhelming for Ranki-chin at first."
'Ranki-chin...' The newly nicknamed student felt mild exasperation at how quickly Murasakibara had assigned him a casual nickname after just meeting. This guy seemed pretty unreliable—he hadn't even figured out what training to do!
Akashi looked at Murasakibara with barely concealed frustration and gently patted his shoulder. "Murasakibara, you are now Ranki's instructor. Naturally, the training regimen is entirely up to your judgment. Just do whatever you think is best."
With that, Akashi and Midorima departed, leaving Murasakibara looking somewhat helpless. "Well, I guess we should start with some one-on-one play so I can evaluate your current skill level."
"Let's do three baskets, half-court, just you and me. I want to see what your basketball fundamentals look like, so attack with everything you've got." Murasakibara tossed the basketball to Ranki and assumed a defensive stance with casual confidence.
After receiving the ball, Ranki knew that Murasakibara was exceptionally strong, but he'd never actually witnessed his abilities firsthand, so he wasn't sure exactly what level of skill he was facing.
He attempted a left-side pump fake followed by an immediate jump shot.
However, such basic deception couldn't fool Murasakibara at all. His defensive instincts were sharp, and he easily timed his jump to completely shut down Ranki's shooting attempt.
After securing the rebound, Murasakibara casually dribbled once, executed a simple crossover move that left Ranki completely off-balance, and scored an effortless layup.
While Ranki possessed solid skills and had earned his promotion to first-string through genuine ability that rivaled other first-string players, this level of performance was completely insufficient when matched against Murasakibara's natural talent.
The quick scrimmage ended 3-0, and Ranki looked at the scoreboard with a rueful smile: "You really are incredible, Murasakibara-san. I'm completely outclassed."