[10] The Little Devil Underclassman and the Superficial World

Chapter 10: The Little Devil Underclassman and the Superficial World

However, the girls didn't care about any of that. The moment Shunsuke made his midcourt jump shot, they screamed in excitement even before the ball went in.

Whether or not the shot actually made it wasn't important. What mattered was that the pose was cool enough!

And, of course, most important of all—the guy himself was handsome!

Shunsuke was quite satisfied with this superficial world.

Among the crowd of cheering girls, Hanabi glanced around at the screaming girls, pouting as she muttered under her breath, "Bunch of fangirls."

"That's Fujii, huh? He sure is popular," Sanae Ebato remarked with a meaningful tone. "I heard you and he are childhood friends, right, Hanabi?"

"Yeah, we've known each other since we were really young. My mom even spoiled him more than she spoiled me. It was infuriating."

"Well, you better keep an eye on him, or some other girl might snatch him away," Sanae teased with a smile, though inside, she was full of tears. Like a hopeless admirer, she pretended not to care, only to hurt herself for the chance to glean a tiny bit of information from her "goddess."

"As if! I wouldn't be interested in someone so full of himself!" Hanabi panicked, quickly covering Sanae's mouth with her small hand. "He's so immature, barely even acknowledges me when I talk to him. There's no way I'd like such a childish guy!"

"..."

Sanae wasn't paying attention to Hanabi's reaction anymore. Instead, she was focused on the soft touch of Hanabi's hand on her lips. After a moment of hesitation, she impulsively stuck out her tongue.

Lick.

Lick, lick, lick—!

"Ew! Sanae, stop messing around!"

"Hmph, serves you right for brushing me off."

"I-I wasn't!"

In the end, Hanabi was successfully distracted, and the two began playfully bickering, with the earlier topic naturally forgotten.

Poor Hanabi, unknowingly toyed with by Sanae.

Meanwhile, on the court.

The ball was in play again, and Hayama had possession. Shunsuke guarded him.

"That last shot—was it intentional or just luck?" Hayama asked.

Shunsuke smirked. "Why don't you try me and find out?"

"Don't underestimate me."

Hayama still had plenty of fight left in him, dribbling the ball with precision and making quick movements, throwing in the occasional feint in an attempt to get past Shunsuke.

But to Shunsuke, who was sharing Platinum Star's vision, it was all too slow.

Smack!

In the brief exchange between the two, Shunsuke casually reached out, and as if Hayama had handed the ball to him on a silver platter, he effortlessly stole it.

"What!?" Hayama let out a sound of disbelief, like a background character in shock.

Shunsuke didn't pay him any mind. Seizing the moment before anyone could react, he charged forward with large strides, and when he reached the free-throw line, he leapt into the air.

Duang!

Shunsuke soared high and finished with a clean, powerful one-handed dunk.

For a moment, the entire gym fell silent.

The next instant, the screams of the girls echoed throughout the gymnasium.

"Ah! Fujii is so cool!"

"Go, Fujii-senpai!"

Cheers like these kept coming in waves, even some first-year students joining the frenzy.

As an ordinary Japanese high schooler, Shunsuke stood at a modest 180 cm. For someone his height to make a one-handed dunk, even those with no knowledge of basketball could appreciate the sheer level of skill involved.

"Hayama, let me sub in," Kunimi finally said.

Feeling a bit awkward, Kunimi had been hanging back on the sidelines with Sakuta, but now he couldn't sit still anymore.

As someone who loved basketball, his blood was boiling. He couldn't resist the urge to challenge the now seemingly transformed Shunsuke.

There was no way he could win, but that's what teammates were for, right?

Hayama, lowering his head, responded, "Yeah, Kunimi, I'm counting on you."

Next, Futarou inbounded the ball, and, unsurprisingly, it quickly found its way into Shunsuke's hands while the other four players on the court simply watched.

Kunimi and Hayama both rushed to block him.

The three lackeys on Hayama's team did their jobs well, guarding the four teammates on Shunsuke's team who were essentially just standing around.

No—two of them were enough to handle the job, freeing up Tobe to join the double-team on Shunsuke, surrounding him on both sides.

"It's too unfair! Isn't Fujii-senpai practically 1v9 at this point?"

"Tobe, why are you even getting involved in a showdown between three cool guys? Don't you feel a bit babyish?"

The girls continued cheering enthusiastically.

"What are you talking about? We didn't break any rules! It's all thanks to good tactics!" Tobe replied with his usual carefree attitude, thick-skinned as ever.

"Kunimi and Fujii... Kunimi and Hayama... The three of them together, guh, such a ship!"

Ebina's mind was clearly racing with imagined love triangles, so much so that she had to cover her nose to stop a potential nosebleed—at least until Tobe's interference ruined the scene for her, like a mouse dropping into a pot of porridge.

"Tch, Tobe is such a nuisance," Ebina grumbled, effectively sinking his mood with a single comment.

Shunsuke ignored the chatter. Facing the two players eyeing him like he was their sworn enemy, he felt no pressure. With Platinum Star's assistance, he easily faked both of them out and slipped past with blinding speed.

Kunimi and Hayama tried to catch up, but their usually pride-worthy speed was useless now. They could only watch helplessly as Shunsuke switched up his stance and slammed the ball into the basket with another dunk.

"We're...completely outclassed here," Kunimi muttered, shaking his head in resignation. "When we played before, you weren't this strong."

Shunsuke chuckled, "I did some training over the break."

This only deepened Kunimi's frustration.

Realizing he might've been having a little too much fun, Shunsuke decided to dial it back.

The final score was 40-33.

Though anyone paying attention could see that Shunsuke had been holding back, the score was what it was, and saying 40-33 out loud wouldn't embarrass Hayama, Kunimi, and the rest too much.

Having lived a whole previous life as a working adult, Shunsuke knew better than to completely crush his friends. And since Kunimi was a friend, Shunsuke made sure not to make the loss too humiliating.

Because of that, Tobe and his lackey crew, who had been all fired up for a fight before the game, now warmed up to Shunsuke. Tobe, ever the overly familiar type, even threw an arm around Shunsuke's shoulder.

Shunsuke, grimacing, quickly shrugged him off.

Ugh, sweaty guys—seriously, get a clue.

"Senpai~, please use this to wipe off your sweat!"

A red-faced first-year girl shyly offered a towel and a bottle of water.

Even without wearing a first-year's necktie, the way she called him "Senpai" in such an adorable tone made it clear she was a charming, petite underclassman.

Shunsuke took a closer look and realized—it was Iroha Isshiki.

So bold... Shunsuke thought to himself.

It was only the second day of school, and she was already pulling moves on a popular upperclassman.

Typical of a little devil-type kouhai, she sure had guts.

Glancing at the other girls, who were visibly annoyed, Shunsuke understood why Iroha would eventually be ostracized by her peers—standing out too much often backfired.

"Thanks," he replied.

Shunsuke took the towel and thanked her.

If he had refused, even though this little devil kouhai was cute and bubbly, she would likely plummet straight to the bottom of the class hierarchy. And being the kind-hearted person he was, he couldn't bear to see that happen.

Of course, if it had been someone like a completely oblivious Ruka offering him the towel, there's no way he would've accepted it.

This damn face-obsessed world, he thought to himself.

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