High Speed! Volume 2

Chapter 1: Jump

The court was filled with a suffocating heat and heavy breathing.

The ball that was thrown from within the confused fight bounced off the ring, its vibrations making a sound and travelling through the air.

Among several hands stretching towards it, Asahi, who was a head taller, landed while holding the ball. Then, he shoots the ball without a moment's delay.

"Nanase, swift attack!"

Haruka had already started running the moment Asahi touched the ball.

The ball flies to where he runs to. Kicking off with his left foot, Haruka's right hand, that had stretched as far as it could, catches the ball.
Even if he flicks back his wrist, he doesn't let go of the ball, as if it was stuck to him. He slaps the ball onto the floor, throwing it from his elbow.

A sound that was so loud that it hurt echoed in his ears. He holds down the ball that bounces up by force. Holding it down, he runs while slapping it down again. The sound of the ball that continuously echoes overlapping with the sound of Haruka kicking the floor keeps a high-speed beat.

There are two people on defense––.

Ikuya was in front of Haruka, blocking his way. He has a small stature, but in contrast to his appearance, his moves are good. He had already cut into passes three times. He glares at Haruka from beneath his long eyelashes with piercing eyes.

Haruka kept running without stopping his momentum. If he stopped here, the defense formation would catch up in an instant and the long-awaited swift attack would end up losing its meaning.

When he came so close to Ikuya that he thought he'd crash into him, Kisumi called for a pass with miraculous timing.

"Nanase-kun, over here!"

For a second, Ikuya's awareness strayed towards Kisumi. At the same time, Haruka crosses his left foot and turns his back to the defense like that. While making a turn so he mostly comes in contact, transferring the bounced ball from his right hand to his left, he slips by on Ikuya's right side.

Even if he can follow Haruka going farther away with his gaze, he shouldn't be able to shift his center of gravity in time. Ikuya's hand grasping at the empty air disappears from Haruka's field of vision.

The only one left is Makoto standing underneath the hoop.

"Nanase-kun!"

Kisumi runs parallel to him. But in Haruka's eyes, Makoto was the only one he saw. Makoto lying in wait up-front for Haruka running head-on––.

Makoto also doesn't think in the least that Haruka will make a pass.

The sound of the ball slapping the floor echoes not in his ears, but directly in his body. The sound amplifies Haruka's heartbeat and runs through him alongside the heat.

He has no intention of swinging from left to right. He's up against Makoto. Boring cheap tricks don't work on him. He's not the kind of opponent he can slip past unless he overcomes his limits.

Stepping in front of Makoto with his right foot, he leapt vertically. Pulling back his left shoulder at the same time, he holds the ball high over his head.

Matching it, Makoto jumped, too. Then, raising both hands, he takes up an intercepting stance.

Adding the difference of their jumping power to the difference in height and the length of his arms, he becomes a hopeless wall and oppresses Haruka. Haruka looks back at Makoto looking down on him. The sweat that gushes out scattering, it's impossible to tell who it belongs to.