Ace of the Bench

The ball bounced once.

Twice.

Yuuto steadied his breathing as he crossed half-court again, sweat clinging to his temples, heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of the dribble. The noise in the arena hadn't faded—but it no longer overwhelmed him. It pressed in from all sides, a constant reminder that every possession now mattered.

Hakuro didn't press.

They didn't need to.

Ryu stood near the top of the key, relaxed posture, eyes calm, hands loose. He wasn't guarding space.

He was guarding possibility.

Marcus rotated toward the wing, rolling his shoulders as he did. His legs burned—not from fatigue alone, but from the tension of restraint. Every instinct screamed to attack harder, faster, to force something open.

But forcing it was how Hakuro punished you.

Shunjin hovered near the corner, glancing between Ren and Haruto, searching for a tell—anything that broke the symmetry of Hakuro's defense.

Nothing did.

"Same look," Shunjin muttered.

Yuuto nodded without looking. "Yeah."

The shot clock ticked.

Seventeen.

Sixteen.

Yuuto dribbled laterally, eyes scanning. Marcus cut toward the top—Ren followed. Shunjin faked baseline—Haruto slid perfectly, sealing the angle before it could exist.

Every route felt pre-read.

Yuuto hesitated, then drove anyway—testing.

Ryu stepped in smoothly, not reaching, not panicking. Just present. An immovable line drawn across the lane.

Yuuto stopped short and kicked the ball out to Daniel.

Daniel caught, squared up—

Hiroto closed out instantly.

Daniel passed back.

The possession reset, slower now.

Ten seconds.

Marcus set a screen for Yuuto, shoulder solid, timing clean. Yuuto used it, turned the corner—

Ryu slipped under the screen, reappearing in front of him like he'd never left.

No opening.

Yuuto swung the ball to Shunjin.

Shunjin rose for a contested three—

Ren's hand brushed the air beside it.

Clang.

Rebound—Hakuro.

Again.

Hakuro flowed into transition, not explosive, not hurried. Minato pushed the ball up, eyes sharp, recognizing matchups, recognizing balance.

Seiryō sprinted back.

Marcus matched Hiroto stride for stride this time, refusing to give him space. Yuuto tracked Ryu, positioning himself early, body angled to cut off the middle.

For a brief moment—

Hakuro slowed.

The break didn't form.

They reset into half-court.

And that alone sent a ripple through the Seiryō bench.

They stopped them.

Coach Takeda's eyes narrowed.

On the court, Ryu glanced around—not frustrated.

Curious.

He dribbled once, twice, testing the air.

Yuuto felt it then.

A pressure shift.

Not physical.

Mental.

Ryu leaned slightly to his right.

Yuuto didn't bite.

Ryu switched hands.

Yuuto stayed centered.

The dribble stopped.

Ryu passed to Minato and cut.

Yuuto tracked him.

Minato swung to Hiroto.

Marcus stepped up instantly, chest square, arms wide.

Hiroto paused.

Just for a heartbeat.

The gold didn't show—but Marcus felt something heavy in that stillness.

Hiroto passed out.

The ball cycled.

The shot clock dipped.

Seven.

Six.

Hakuro hadn't scored—but they hadn't panicked.

Ryu took the ball back at the top.

This time, he drove.

Hard.

Yuuto slid, absorbing the contact, feet scraping against the hardwood.

Ryu spun—

Yuuto stayed.

A flicker of surprise crossed Ryu's face before he recovered.

He kicked the ball out.

Haruto shot.

Swish.

Hakuro Academy 12

Not devastating.

Not flashy.

Efficient.

Yuuto clenched his jaw as he inbounded.

They were doing everything right—and Hakuro was still ahead.

Marcus jogged up beside him.

"…We're reacting," Marcus said quietly.

Yuuto nodded. "Yeah."

"And they're still dictating."

Yuuto glanced at Ryu, who was already setting his stance again, eyes sharp now—not bored anymore.

Engaged.

Hakuro felt the resistance.

And they were adjusting.

That realization settled heavy in Yuuto's chest.

Seiryō inbounded again.

Yuuto slowed the pace deliberately this time, dribble measured, posture upright. He wasn't looking for a play.

He was looking for patterns.

Marcus shifted closer—half a step wider than before.

Yuuto noticed.

Shunjin mirrored the adjustment on the weak side, angling his body differently, cutting off the easy rotation lane.

Small things.

Subtle.

But intentional.

Hakuro noticed too.

Ryu's gaze flicked between them, assessing.

The game breathed.

Not rushing forward.

Not stalling.

Waiting.

Waiting for the next evolution.

And in that space—between pressure and resolve—something changed.

No whistle.

No timeout.

No command from the bench.

Just understanding.

The first real adjustment came quietly.

No timeout.

No shouted command.

Yuuto felt it in the way Marcus shifted his feet beside him—lower stance, wider base. In the way their eyes met for a split second longer than usual, a silent agreement passing between them.

We can't play them straight.

Hakuro set up again, the score tight enough to feel dangerous, wide enough to remind Seiryō who held control.

Ryu stood at the top of the key.

The air around him changed.

It wasn't visible at first—just pressure, like the atmosphere had thickened. Then Yuuto saw it. A faint, burning red aura, coiling close to Ryu's body, pulsing with every dribble like a restrained flame.

Across the court, Hiroto rolled his shoulders.

Gold shimmered around him—clean, sharp, regal. Not explosive. Not wild.

Refined.

Marcus swallowed.

"…Yuuto," he muttered, eyes locked on Hiroto. "They're synced."

Yuuto nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I feel it."

Hakuro didn't rush.

Minato swung the ball to Ryu and cleared out. Hiroto drifted up the wing, Ren and Haruto spacing perfectly, every defender dragged just far enough to stretch Seiryō thin.

Yuuto raised a hand.

Switch coverage.

Marcus stepped up.

This was it.

Yuuto slid in front of Ryu, knees bent, eyes sharp. Marcus locked onto Hiroto, mirroring his movements, denying the lane.

For the first time all game, Hakuro met resistance.

Ryu dribbled right.

Yuuto cut him off.

Left.

Yuuto stayed.

Ryu stopped—hard—ball snapping back into his palm.

Yuuto didn't bite.

A flicker of approval crossed Ryu's eyes.

Then—he smiled.

The red aura flared.

Ryu snapped a pass toward Hiroto—

Marcus lunged.

The ball vanished beneath Marcus's foot.

A bounce pass. Perfectly timed. Perfectly placed.

Hiroto caught it without slowing, gold aura flashing—

Marcus recovered, reaching—

Too late.

Hiroto slid the ball back—

Under Yuuto's foot.

Yuuto felt the air move before he saw it.

Ryu was already there.

The red and gold auras intertwined for a split second, spiraling upward like a coiling dragon.

One.

Ryu didn't shoot.

He passed again—sharp, low, threading the needle.

Back to Hiroto.

Two.

Hiroto stepped through traffic, eyes calm, then flicked the ball behind his back—

Under Marcus's heel.

Marcus spun—

Ryu caught.

Three.

The crowd began to rise, sound swelling, instinctively sensing something was happening—something unstoppable.

Yuuto adjusted, overcommitting, trying to break the rhythm—

Hiroto cut behind him.

Ryu bounced the ball once more.

Under Yuuto's foot again.

Four.

"Don't let them breathe!" Coach Takeda shouted.

Too late.

The movement didn't feel like passing anymore.

It was a ritual.

A five-piece sequence climbing the court, each exchange faster than the last, each pass tighter, sharper, crueler.

The Dragon ascended.

Ryu stepped back—just beyond the three-point line.

The red aura surged, blazing now, wild and proud.

Everyone expected the shot.

Yuuto leapt.

Marcus turned to contest Hiroto—

Ryu didn't release.

He dropped the ball.

Straight down.

Between Marcus and Yuuto.

Hiroto exploded upward.

Gold erupted around him as he caught the ball mid-air—already above the rim.

For half a heartbeat, time froze.

A three-point setup.

A dunk finish.

Hiroto slammed the ball through the hoop with both hands, the rim screaming in protest as the dragon completed its ascent.

BOOM.

"BONDING: Dragon Soars With Pride"

Hakuro Academy — 15

The arena detonated.

Hiroto landed lightly, aura fading as he backpedaled. Ryu stood at the arc, arms lowering, eyes locked on Yuuto and Marcus.

No taunting.

No celebration.

Just certainty.

Yuuto exhaled sharply, chest tight.

Marcus clenched his fists.

"…They planned that," Marcus said quietly.

Yuuto nodded, eyes still burning.

"Yeah. And that wasn't even forced so that's Prefect BONDING."

Hakuro reset on defense like nothing had happened.

Like that wasn't a declaration.

Seiryō inbounded.

Yuuto brought the ball up himself this time, dribble hard, controlled. His pulse thundered in his ears—not fear.

Challenge.

Marcus cut hard to the wing, then doubled back, trying to shake Hiroto.

Hiroto stayed with him.

Gold eyes. Calm feet.

Yuuto drove.

Ryu slid into position instantly, red aura flickering—not aggressive, but dominant.

Yuuto stopped short, pivoted, kicked out to Marcus.

Marcus rose—

Hiroto was already there.

Contest.

Clang.

Ryu grabbed the rebound.

And just like that—

Hakuro transitioned again.

But this time, Yuuto chased harder.

Marcus recovered faster.

They refused to let the dragon soar freely again.

Ryu felt it.

He slowed.

Looked back at Hiroto.

A glance.

A nod.

The bond activated again—but Seiryō was ready now.

Yuuto cut off the first lane.

Marcus denied the second.

For a moment—

Just a moment—

The sequence stalled at one.

Ryu's red aura pulsed brighter.

Hiroto's gold aura sharpened.

They adjusted mid-motion.

Hiroto cut higher.

Ryu passed earlier.

The angle changed.

Two.

Marcus reached—

Missed by inches.

Three.

Yuuto dove—

Fingertips brushed air.

The dragon twisted.

Not the same path.

Not the same rhythm.

But still ascending.

Ryu stepped into the arc again.

Yuuto braced—

Hiroto faked the cut.

Ryu shot this time.

Swish.

Clean.

Merciless.

The crowd roared again, but beneath it all, something else stirred.

Respect.

Yuuto bent over, hands on knees, breathing hard.

Marcus straightened, sweat dripping down his jaw.

"…We adjusted," Marcus said.

Yuuto looked up.

"And they still destroyed it."

Ryu jogged past them, voice low, steady.

"That was good defense," he said. "But dragons don't fly in straight lines."

Hiroto glanced back once, gold eyes unreadable.

The message was clear.

Seiryō had taken its first real step forward.

And Hakuro—

Had taken two steps ahead.

The gap wasn't gone.

But now it was visible.

And that meant—

The climb had truly begun.