"Player Rukawa, what are your thoughts on fellow Japanese basketball player Sakuragi Hanamichi recently winning five consecutive games in the playoffs?"
When the reporter threw out this question, the scene turned somewhat awkward for a moment.
The other members of the press seemed to silently break into a cold sweat for him, most of them probably thinking: This guy is going to get blacklisted by Player Rukawa and then thrown out, right?
Throughout the entire American basketball world, including but not limited to the NBA, anyone who knew there was an active Japanese player in the league was well aware that Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede were at absolute odds with each other, and their names must never be brought up in the same context.
Not long ago, a reporter who didn't know any better asked a question related to Rukawa Kaede on the way down the court after Sakuragi Hanamichi finished a game, and Sakuragi Hanamichi's face darkened so abruptly that the reporter was left speechless for ages.
If his teammates hadn't noticed that the atmosphere was wrong and quickly pulled the guy away, Sakuragi Hanamichi's clenched fists definitely would have beaten that reporter unconscious.
Of course, Sakuragi Hanamichi's agent insisted adamantly that such a thing was absolutely impossible.
Yet none of the reporters around were fools; that murderous atmosphere was definitely no joke.
Still, because no one had actually been beaten, nobody tried to make money off the incident in media circles, and the matter eventually fizzled out.
However, ever since then, never mentioning Rukawa Kaede in front of Sakuragi Hanamichi had become an unspoken rule within the industry.
Later on, somehow or other, it gradually evolved into a taboo: neither of these two men could be asked about the other. Tracing it back to the source yielded no particular reason involving Rukawa Kaede either way, but through endless retelling, it became the established rule.
In short, no one dared to ask Rukawa Kaede this question.
Who could have expected that today, a greenhorn working his first day on the job and completely oblivious to the situation would punch a hole through the paper window.
After asking his question, he even blinked and stared with eager thirst for knowledge at the cold, silent Rukawa Kaede.
This was supposed to be Rukawa Kaede's post-transfer press conference celebrating his first career triple-double as a starter, but because of such an untimely question, the other reporters who hadn't yet asked their questions were already cursing inwardly, worried that the main subject would storm off in anger.
In truth, Rukawa Kaede had always worn this expressionless expression, and today was no different from usual.
Yet because the reporters harbored preconceived notions, no matter how they looked at it, they felt Rukawa was even colder than usual today.
"Sakuragi Hanamichi is an excellent basketball player. I look forward to him having an even better performance, and I look forward to the opportunity to test myself against him."
Although Rukawa Kaede spoke with his customary complete lack of emotion, the reporters present felt like magma stirring restlessly beneath a thick layer of volcanic ash, barely able to contain itself.
Who could have possibly imagined that the garland beneath the iceberg would actually start talking about Sakuragi Hanamichi?
Good days like this didn't come every day; if they didn't jump in now, when would they?
Thus, question after question directly overturned the original intent of the press conference.
"Player Rukawa, you and Sakuragi Hanamichi were teammates back in high school. Could you tell us what your relationship was like at the time?"
"Mr. Rukawa, you and Sakuragi Hanamichi will be meeting on the court. Do you have a winning chance against him?"
"Mr. Rukawa, why does Sakuragi Hanamichi refuse to talk about any topic related to you?"
"Mr. Rukawa, are you and Sakuragi Hanamichi friends?"
"As two of the very few active Japanese NBA players, why do you basically never interact? Did something happen between you?"
……
Rukawa Kaede didn't seem prepared at all for the nuclear blast of questions slamming into him head-on; he sat motionless behind a cluster of microphones, coldly watching the scene that was about to spiral out of control.
Finally, Rock, the agent, saw that things were going south and rushed out to rescue the situation: "Please keep your questions focused on Mr. Rukawa himself, and do not expand them to other people."
"Does Sakuragi Hanamichi count as just 'other people'? Is he an opponent, or a friend?"
This matter seemed endless.
Rock wanted to terminate the press conference directly, but before he could open his mouth with the microphone in hand, he heard Rukawa Kaede's voice scattering outward through numerous microphones: "We may not be opponents, but we can be friends."
With that, Rukawa Kaede stood up, looked down haughtily at everyone present with an arrogant sweep of his gaze, and walked away without looking back.
The next day, the headlines of various sports websites carried similar titles: Los Angeles Lakers' New Scoring Machine Rukawa Kaede Extends Olive Branch to Sakuragi Hanamichi; Will Years of Arch-Rivals Finally Shake Hands and Make Peace?
Rukawa Kaede only saw the news around noon, mostly because he always slept heavily for half a day after a game and only woke up around that hour.
After reading the news link sent to him by Rock, Rukawa went to heat up his breakfast with zero emotional fluctuation, acting as though the news had nothing to do with him.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, however, was not in nearly such a calm state—or to be precise, Sakuragi's phone was not in such a calm state.
The very second he finished reading the headline, Sakuragi let out a loud roar, hurled his phone fiercely against the wall, and shook with rage from head to toe.
It took him ages of trembling before he remembered he should check what the specific content was. He picked the phone up and looked—well, it was probably beyond repair.
Resignedly, he rummaged through boxes and cabinets until he found a paperclip, and with great difficulty, poked the SIM card out from inside the phone.
The study drawer was crammed with several unopened new phones; he had no idea where any of them came from, but his agent had simply told him there were phones in there, and that was the only thing he remembered.
By the time he finally managed to reopen the news link sent by his agent, he didn't feel quite as angry as he had at the start. Surprisingly, he was able to read the entire report calmly, complete with that punchable photo of Rukawa Kaede looking down on all living beings from his lofty height.
"Damn Fox!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was annoyed that after all these years, he had only grown 10 centimeters taller and gained a bunch of muscle, while his brain seemed to have made zero progress.
Even when cursing Rukawa Kaede, he couldn't come up with any new vocabulary.
Cursing in such a gritted-teeth manner lost its bite after being used for too long, leaving him unable to find suitable words to express his own furious emotions.
Sakuragi Hanamichi let out a "┗|｀O′|┛ Roar~~" of frustration, grabbed his short, stubby hair that wasn't even long enough to slip between his fingers, and puffed himself up like an angry pufferfish.
*Ping.*
That was the sound of an incoming message.
Ever since the day he got a mobile phone, Sakuragi Hanamichi had kept a habit: whenever someone sent him a message, as long as conditions permitted, he tried his best to read and reply as early as possible.
Because he always felt that people must be looking for him for a reason, and making them wait was rather impolite.
When Mito Yohei first heard this theory of his, he laughed until tears were almost coming out, patted him on the shoulder while gasping for air, and said, "I have to say, Hanamichi, since when did you start being so considerate of others? That really doesn't sound like you!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi had propped his chin in his hand and thought about it for a long time, also feeling it was quite incredible, but since he couldn't figure out why, he simply followed his own mood and did whatever he pleased.
Thus, before the pufferfish could deflate, he picked up his phone to look.
It was a message from his agent: "Hanamichi, did you see the report? Do we need to issue a statement?"
"A statement?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi finally calmed down.
He pondered for a moment and replied to his agent: "Give him a call and tell him to watch his mouth when talking to the outside world! If he drags me into it again, I won't be polite!"
"Got it."
Upon receiving the message, the agent quickly dialed Rukawa Kaede's agent.
Actually, she had Rukawa Kaede's number, but intuition told her it was more appropriate for one agent to speak to another.
"Rock, hello. I am Fujii, Sakuragi Hanamichi's agent."
"Ms. Fujii? What a rare visitor! Why are you suddenly calling me?" Despite his words, Rock's heart was pounding wildly, and he silently cursed his luck.
Of course he knew—after Rukawa's remark went online last night, it would be a miracle if Sakuragi Hanamichi could sit there calmly without reacting.
Sure enough, the person demanding accountability had arrived right on cue.
"Rock, we saw Mr. Rukawa's remarks yesterday, and we feel they are quite inappropriate. If there is a next time, we will take necessary measures."
Rock knew Sakuragi Hanamichi was a man of his word; he certainly didn't want the two of them to actually come to blows over a misunderstanding.
After swearing up and down that no similar nonsense would happen again, Rock hung up the phone and looked with lingering resentment at Rukawa Kaede, who was sitting nearby eating breakfast with a few tufts of hair still sticking up.
"Is something inappropriate?"
Rukawa Kaede glanced at him.
"Listen to me, Boss, mentioning Sakuragi at a press conference—is there any part of that that *is* appropriate? It's bound to cause some unnecessary trouble."
Rock knew that subtle reminders had lost all effect, especially when Rukawa Kaede hadn't been awake for very long.
"Oh, you mean that."
Rukawa Kaede remembered. He raised an eyebrow and said with complete indifference:
"I just wanted to show him some friendliness. After all, we were classmates back in high school, even though our relationship wasn't very good at the time." Rukawa paused. "Though I suppose it wasn't terrible either."
"But your current situation is terrible, and doing this will only make things worse."
Rock hoped Rukawa Kaede understood just how much Sakuragi Hanamichi loathed him.
Yet Rukawa Kaede clearly wasn't thinking along those lines at all.
"Is our situation terrible?" He wore a blank look.
Rock massaged his forehead and sighed.
"Boss, do you honestly think the current state of affairs between the two of you is *OK*?"
Rukawa Kaede stopped eating his breakfast, crossed his arms, and pondered earnestly for a moment.
Rock waited a good long while before summarizing for his boss: "Look at it this way, Boss: although you two are both among the very few Japanese players in the NBA, you have never spoken to each other, never appeared in the same frame, and strictly speaking, you've never attended a single event together—at most there were basketball games, but your teams never crossed paths. Whether in private or in public, you two are like parallel lines that have never interacted. Your only connection is your nationality and your high school experiences. Does this look like a good situation? You're no different from complete strangers. What's more..."
Rukawa Kaede glanced at him. "What's more?"
Sensing that his boss didn't seem angry, Rock pressed on: "What's more, Sakuragi Hanamichi has publicly stated that his relationship with you is bad."
Sitting in the car, Rukawa Kaede kept thinking about what his agent had said: "Sakuragi Hanamichi has publicly stated that his relationship with you is bad."
Although he didn't quite understand it, Rukawa Kaede had never been someone who made a habit of overcomplicating problems.
He simply assumed that the big idiot was still the same as in high school, always opposing him for some unfathomable reason.
Therefore, he stopped dwelling on the matter—an amoeba didn't complicate things.
Yet today, he had come all this way for a problem that was obviously complicated. Since he couldn't resolve it, he had to make the trip.
Just then, the car ahead slammed on its brakes, and Rukawa hurriedly hit the brakes as well.
Unfortunately, because his mind had been wandering slightly, he was a fraction too late. His car made solid contact with the rear of the vehicle in front, resulting in a rear-end collision.
He glanced at his watch; the meeting time arranged by Rock with the person he was supposed to see was fast approaching, and he couldn't afford to waste too much time here.
However, when Rukawa Kaede saw the red head emerging from the front car, he suddenly felt that there was no need to go see that other person anymore.
In that single instant, he suddenly felt a visceral realization that the "bad relationship" his agent spoke of was an objective reality.
So it turned out that it had been this long since he last saw the big idiot.