Chapter 47: Losing the Game, Winning Everything Else
"That kind of ball-handling… that's the level of a top-tier expert!"
Izuki stared at the scene of Kira Ryosuke breaking past Hyuga earlier, his expression filled with astonishment.
Kira had chained together a front cross, behind-the-back dribble, spin move, and step-back—seamless, fluid, continuous.
The sequence looked flashy and stylish, yet without genuine dribbling fundamentals, it was absolutely impossible to execute.
Even Izuki, with his excellent ball sense and "Eagle Eye," could mimic it if he tried, but the smoothness and rhythm Kira showed were on another level entirely.
It made Izuki realize—Kira was likely a basketball ace, possibly with fundamentals stronger than anyone here… including Kiyoshi.
"That was a streetball combo!"
"So damn cool!"
"And I actually believed him when he said he couldn't play basketball!"
Everyone was unanimously praising Kira's ball-handling.
Meanwhile, Kira, now outside the three-point line, rose into the air to shoot.
He had already shaken off Hyuga, giving himself a perfectly open shot, and his insane jumping power made it impossible for anyone to block him.
This shot—logically—should have been a guaranteed score.
Kira adjusted his form, released the ball, and it arced beautifully through the air.
Every eye followed its trajectory.
Closer…
Closer…
And then—
It flew clean over the backboard and slammed into the wall.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
Not a single person knew where to begin commenting.
It wasn't just a miss.
It wasn't even a normal airball.
It went over the entire backboard.
Even among all the strange airballs they'd seen, this was a first.
He had just shown flawless dribbling… only to follow it up with a shot so outrageous that "anticlimax" wasn't even enough to describe it.
"Was that… supposed to be a shot?"
"I thought he launched a missile."
"Think positive—at least we learned his vertical and arm strength are incredible…"
After several seconds, people finally began muttering.
Kira scratched the back of his head awkwardly and stuck out his tongue a little.
"Sorry. I'm not really good at shooting."
Dropping his gaze, he stared at his own hands.
The movements he had just performed felt strange—instinctive, almost like they had been drilled into him millions of times.
He understood perfectly:
That was Rice Spirit's effect.
But he had never expected a skill meant for dribbling and ball control in soccer to transfer so perfectly to basketball.
It was a pleasant surprise.
As for shooting… maybe Thunder Swarm can help me stabilize the arc. Maybe it can fix my aim too.
Kira thought quietly.
"Except for that shot, Kira, your dribbling was seriously beautiful!"
Hyuga walked up and praised him openly, then pushed his glasses back and asked—quite seriously:
"Kira… was that really your first time playing basketball?"
"Strictly speaking, not really. I played when I was a kid, but I haven't touched a ball in years. Our soccer team occasionally does drills similar to basketball ones too."
Kira answered with a casual smile.
After the display he'd just put on, saying he had never played would be too unbelievable.
"Still amazing. You can't pull off those moves without years of practice…"
Hyuga said, though deep down he was astonished.
Not only was Kira a football prodigy—he clearly had terrifying potential in basketball as well.
If only he could join Seirin…
Just as Hyuga was drifting into that fantasy, Kiyoshi slapped his shoulder.
"What're you dreaming about? Come on, it's our turn on offense."
"Right, right."
…
About forty minutes later, the scrimmage ended.
Kira's substitute team ultimately lost, but that was expected—this match was mainly for the starting lineup to practice tactics.
Kira didn't score much, but the speed, reaction time, and elite ball control he showed were impressive enough to shock everyone.
"Amazing. Kira might not be good at shooting, but everything else is ridiculously strong."
Kiyoshi said as he wiped sweat from his forehead, praising him generously.
"If he really hasn't played in years like he said… just imagine if he trained a little. He could become terrifying. What a waste."
"How is it a waste?!"
Izuki huffed, turning his head as he pointed in a direction.
"Look over there—"
Everyone turned—
Only to find a line of excited girls gathered near the court, practically sparkling.
"Kira!! It's Kira!!"
"He's amazing at basketball too!"
"Kiraaaa! Look this way—!!"
As soon as Kira turned toward the sound, the girls screamed even louder.
One of them had spotted him practicing with the basketball team, and word spread like wildfire.
Before long, the gym was packed with students wanting photos.
"We've never had this many spectators watching our practice… so this is the difference between a superstar and normal players, huh."
Hyuga sighed helplessly.
Seirin was a new high school, and the basketball club even newer.
Their practices usually attracted zero attention.
But today—
Because Kira was here—
The gym felt like a festival.
Even though they won the scrimmage, in a sense… the basketball team had suffered a devastating loss.
"Alright, alright! Practice is over! You girls go do your own thing!"
Riko marched over, her expression dark.
For some reason, seeing so many girls come just for Kira irritated her immensely.
She drove them out of the gym, then spun around to face him.
"Kira, we shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's slip out through the back door!"