All who heard Kazuo's question hesitated for a second before resuming what they had been doing, as if he had said nothing at all. Takako raised her head in skepticism. Surely Kazuo Kiriyama was above basketball? But as Mitsuru, Ryuhei, Hiroshi, and Sho had long known, nothing could be considered either above or below the tastes of their capricious boss.
"You asked whether anyone else wanted to play basketball. I will," Kazuo restated to everybody's surprise.
"Uhh…do you know how to play, Kiriyama?" Shuuya asked, mentally incapable of turning down a challenge.
"Yes. I just learned."
"Alrighty, do you want to change outta your uniform?"
"No."
Mitsuru called out from the stands, happy for a break from the monotony. "Hey, boss, we'll make it an even match."
Kazuo stared back with an unreadable expression. "If you say so."
Mitsuru, Ryuhei, and Hiroshi bounded down the bleachers, thumping loudly with each step. The class' duly undivided attention drawn, the group sprinted across the court into the men's locker room. Sho, lagging behind for a moment, followed them inside walking along the sidelines.
Simultaneously, Tadakatsu, Kazushi, and Tatsumichi emerged from the weight room. The spectacle attracting their interest, they insisted on playing as well. "Count us in too. Those last games were boring as fuck, but there's no way we're just sitting out on this one with crazy Kiriyama playing," Kazushi explained. The three joined Shuuya and Shinji, who both appeared overwhelmed with the interest but excited with the new competition.
Warning, we have an excess of manliness breaking out in the gym. Takako sighed.
Kazuo's gang emerged before long in basketball shorts and tanks. By now, the game had engrossed all of Class 3-B's attention. Even Hiroki stopped writing to observe. The teams already set in stone (no one considered, let alone brought up, shooting for captain), Shinji handed Kazuo the basketball. "I'll let you have the honors."
"I thought there was a jump for the ball at the beginning of the game."
"Nah, that's for officiated games. We're just playing around here, right?"
"I see." Kazuo took a shot right from where he stood, which was several meters past the three-point line. The ball sailed high before hitting nothing but the wall on the way back down. It was an airball.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Kazushi burst out into conniptions that echoed throughout the gym. Shuuya, showing hints of apprehension on his face for the past several minutes, let out a breath and seemed more relieved. Kazuo was human after all. Takako's eyes widened. I kinda expected him to swish that shot.
Kazuo, if he felt any inkling of embarrassment, didn't display it. Instead, he trotted over to the ball, examining its properties and dribbling it around for a few seconds before returning it to Tadakatsu.
Thus, the game began in earnest. Tadakatsu held the ball and checked it in to Hiroshi. Trotting diagonally to the basket, Tadakatsu bounced the ball to Shuuya in the post against Mitsuru, who begrudgingly backed down against Shuuya's surprising strength. In a flash, Shinji cut free from Sho on a screen by Tatsumichi, received Shuuya's dish, and extended his arm up toward the rim only to see a rising Kazuo challenge him at the basket and deflect the ball out to Ryuhei on the wing – but not before the ball had already banked off the backboard.
"Goaltend!" Shinji called out, relishing in Kazuo's second gaffe.
But in what seemed like a move of calculated vengeance, Kazuo quickly gathered the inbounds pass from Mitsuru and sped down the length of the court with breakneck speed, beating everyone to the basket and laying it in easily.
Kazushi slapped the ball on the sideline, trying to find an open player to inbound the ball. After several seconds of indecision, he recalled his soccer intuition and simply kicked the ball as far as he could in Shuuya's general direction. Shuuya was one of the more athletic students at Shiroiwa, but upon the leap to take hold of the errant ball his fingers were beaten to the punch by Kazuo's outstretched hand; Kazuo directed the ball to Ryuhei. Sprinting full speed on the fast break opportunity for the other basket, Kazuo collected the ball back, head faked right, and drove left away from Kazushi's body. Seeing Tatsumichi retreat back to the rim and lunge out for the ball, Kazuo spun away from his grasp and finger rolled the ball into the hoop.
Clearly, Kazuo's school uniform did not inhibit movement.
Roving around the court on defense, Kazuo singlehandedly foiled all attempts by the other team to score through spectacular steals, blocks, or forced misses. On the other end, he demonstrated expert footwork and ball handling that shamed even Shuuya and Shinji, who could not stop any of Kazuo's explosive drives, methodical post moves, or sharpshooting jumpers. Occasionally, as if he just wanted to see what would happen, Kazuo drove to collapse the defense and passed the ball to open members of his team. But after discovering that none of them could capitalize on the scoring opportunity, he quickly resumed to taking it in himself.
Kazuo posted Shuuya down at the freethrow line. He spun right, kicked his right leg out, and faded away. The shot dropped cleanly through the net for the tenth point of the game, which had lasted barely several minutes.
The students in Class 3-B murmured to each other in disbelief. Kazushi, Tadakatsu, and Tatsumichi hunched over, hands on their hips. Their brief foray into basketball a complete catastrophe, they swiftly left without a word in embarrassed dejection for the locker room. Shuuya sat on the floor, utterly shellshocked. Shinji, the only player with the presence of mind to talk, told Kazuo, "Wow, man, you kind of destroyed us. You could easily play in America at their collegiate level, I'll bet. I've seen clips from the NBA several times, and…you're right up there with the skillset."
"I will keep that in mind when I am in America," Kazuo responded. Shinji paled slightly at the connotation of the sentence; barely anyone from the Republic had the means and opportunity to venture abroad. When they did, they remained. Takako could interpret the reply as anything from a sarcastic rebuke to a lighthearted joke. But with Kazuo, you simply never knew.
"Heh, for sure," Shinji could only say sheepishly.
Kazuo launched a laser-fast chest pass toward Shinji. "I do not think I will play again. If you keep up with the news, then you know that government is deciding on whether to ban the sport from schools due to its distinct pedigree and current popularity in America."
"I know. I'm dead-set against it." Shinji spat, his face immediately forming a grimace.
Kazuo stared through Shinji toward the rest of the class. "It might be time you to return to baseball. I understand you played second base not too long ago, and that you were above average in fielding. Either way you go about it, the odds are not in basketball's favor. You are probably aware of the Republic's history concerning things with American heritage." His cold eyes fell on Takako, who seized from the direct eye contact.
The electronic chime reverberated throughout the gym, signaling the end of the period. Kazuo swiped a towel from Mitsuru's outstretched hand and wiped off his sweat before grabbing his bag to depart, leaving Shinji sulking, Shuuya mute, and Takako concerned.