Kuroko's Basketball template: the king of slacking off, Shohoku's strongest sixth man.

"Huff... huff..."

The familiar sound of breathing.

A familiar posture.

Even the rhythm that rose and fell with her breathing seemed so familiar.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyebrows twitched.

A premonition welled up in my heart.

He strode over and yanked the towel off.

"Who is it! Sleeping here in broad daylight!"

The towel was lifted.

A face with headphones on and sleepy eyes was revealed.

His dead fish eyes opened slightly, revealing his annoyance at being disturbed.

"It's so noisy..."

"Who is it...?"

Lin Bei rubbed his eyes and finally saw the magnified red-haired face in front of him.

"Well……"

"Sakuragi?"

Lin Bei paused for a moment, then noticed Qingzi standing next to him.

"Haruko?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Master?!"

"Lin Bei?!"

Sakuragi and Haruko exclaimed in unison.

The noise was so loud it almost blew the ceiling off.

"How did you get here?!" Sakuragi pointed at Lin Bei, his fingers trembling.

Lin Bei yawned, sat up, and slowly put on his other shoe.

"Oh, I'm here to buy shoes too."

"Buying shoes?"

Sakuragi glanced at the luxurious shop, then at the shop manager who was being extremely respectful to him.

"So he said you're the boss..."

"yes."

Lin Bei picked up a bottle of iced cola from the side, took a sip, and said matter-of-factly:

"I only wanted to buy a pair of shoes."

"But I was too sleepy when I was trying on the shoes, so I wanted to take a nap."

"The staff said we can't sleep here."

"I think it's too much trouble, and I'm too lazy to change locations."

"So we bought this store."

He would never admit that it was because he wanted to work hard...

I bought this store's shoes so that it would be more convenient to change them in the future.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

The store manager was wiping away cold sweat, internally cursing: I don't understand the world of the rich!

Haruko stared wide-eyed at Lin Bei.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was completely petrified.

Because I want to sleep...

So you bought the store?!

What kind of reason is that?!

Is this something a human being would do?!

"Damn it!!"

"Is this the ugly face of the rich?!"

"I wish I could be this willful too!" Sakuragi cried, burying his face in his hands.

Lin Bei's head was throbbing from the noise.

He stood up and stretched his ankles.

"Alright, stop howling."

He glanced at Sakuragi's Jordan 6 shoes, then at the pitiful 30 yen on the counter.

I roughly understand what's going on.

"You want these shoes?"

Lin Bei pointed to Sakuragi's feet.

Sakuragi stopped crying instantly and nodded frantically.

"I want to! I dream about it!"

"But that bespectacled shop manager won't sell it to me!"

The shop manager, looking aggrieved, said, "Boss, he wanted to buy it for 30 yen..."

Lin Bei waved his hand, interrupting the store manager.

He walked up to Sakuragi and patted him on the shoulder.

"Sakuragi."

"How is your master usually treating you?"

"Well……"

Sakuragi thought for a moment, "Aside from always stealing my lunchbox, he's not bad, is he?"

"..." Lin Bei's lips twitched.

Listen.

"These shoes are for you."

"Really?!" Sakuragi's eyes instantly turned into searchlights.

Lin Bei then pointed to all the shoes in the store.

"Not just these two."

"From now on, I'll take care of all your shoes."

"If you wear out a pair of shoes, I'll give you a new pair."

"If you break ten pairs of shoes, I'll give ten pairs away."

"Consider this... a small token of appreciation for your hard work."

Sakuragi was stunned.

A tip for your hard work?

"In order to help Shohoku win the national tournament."

"To develop you into a rebounding monster and a defensive dam."

"This investment is such a great deal," Lin Bei silently added to himself.

Lin Bei had calculated this very clearly.

But Sakuragi Hanamichi clearly didn't think that far ahead.

All he heard was one sentence: "Take any shoes you like!"

"Hahaha!"

"Master! You're so handsome!"

"I knew you'd been captivated by my genius!"

Sakuragi grabbed Lin Bei and gave him that suffocating bear hug again.

"Let go... I'm going to die..."

Lin Bei rolled his eyes, feeling like his ribs were about to break.

Haruko stood to the side, watching this scene with a gentle smile on her face.

"Lin Bei, although he looks lazy..."

"But I actually care a lot about Sakuragi-kun."

"Is this what friendship between boys is like?"

"That's great."

……

Ten minutes later.

Sakuragi Hanamichi walked out of the shoe store wearing brand new Jordan 6 shoes.

He would look down at his shoes with every step he took, afraid that dust on the ground would dirty them.

"Miss Haruko! Look!"

"These shoes are a perfect match for a genius!"

Sakuragi spun around in front of Haruko.

"Yes, he's very handsome." Haruko nodded with a smile.

Just then, Lin Bei also pushed open the door and came out.

He was carrying a bag of hamburgers that he had just asked the shop assistant to buy.

"Let's go home."

Lin Bei opened the car door, and the black sports car emitted a deep roar.

"Get in the car, I'll give you a ride."

Wow! A sports car!

Sakuragi's eyes lit up, and he was about to rush over.

Suddenly, something came to mind.

He stopped and glanced at Haruko.

He glanced again at the sports car that only had two seats.

If you take a car...

Does that mean I can't walk home with Haruko-san anymore?

Although the sports car is very cool.

but……

"No need, Master!"

Sakuragi waved his hand with a righteous air.

"Geniuses measure the earth with their own two feet!"

"I'm going to wear my new shoes home after special training!"

Lin Bei raised an eyebrow.

He glanced at Haruko beside him and instantly understood.

"Alright."

"Then you can slowly undergo 'special training'."

"I'm going back to sleep now."

boom--!

The sports car sped away, leaving everyone else in the dust.

Sakuragi and Haruko were left standing by the roadside.

As the sun set, it cast long shadows of the two of them.

"Um... Sakuragi-kun."

Haruko stood with her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward as she looked at Sakuragi.

"Since you've bought new shoes..."

"Want to join me for morning exercise tomorrow?"

"I'll cheer you on!"

Morning exercise?

Together?

come on?

These three words are combined.

The damage it caused to Sakuragi Hanamichi was ten thousand times greater than that of the shoes from before.

Sakuragi felt his very soul trembling.

He took a deep breath, faced the setting sun, and let out the most resolute roar of his life:

"yes!!!!"

"I will definitely go!!!"

"Even if it rains knives from the sky, I'll go!!!"

Looking at Sakuragi's excited expression.

Haruko smiled, her eyes crinkling.

"Then it's settled."

See you tomorrow, Sakuragi-kun.

"See you tomorrow, Haruko-san!"

Watching Haruko's departing figure.

Sakuragi Hanamichi looked down at his new shoes.

He clenched his fist tightly.

"That guy, Master..."

"Although it's annoying sometimes."

"But this time..."

"Thank you, Master."

He said this silently to himself.

then.

"Hahaha! I'm a genius!"

"Conquer the nation! Starting with tomorrow's morning workout!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi is like a madman.

Wearing new shoes, I ran wildly down the street in the sunset.

that moment.

That red-haired boy seemed to have truly fallen in love with basketball.

Or.

I fell in love with that youth that included basketball, Haruko, and that group of strange teammates.