NOVEL WEB Chapter 53 – bonus chapter
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"Slam Dunk?"
Mai Sakurajima tilted her head slightly, a faint crease forming between her brows. She had never even heard of this title before.
I asked with mild curiosity, "What story is it about? Is it actually interesting?"
Ryoko, her ever-energetic assistant, brightened immediately. "It's about two boys playing basketball together and fighting their way to conquer the national competition. The whole story is set right here in Japan!"
"Oh…"
Mai's tone was flat, her expression betraying no spark of interest. She wasn't the kind of girl who swooned over sports manga—especially not basketball ones—and the subject matter felt, to her, a bit dull.
Without further comment, she walked a few steps away and settled herself on a bench, crossing her legs in that elegant yet casual way only she could pull off.
Ryoko, however, was already brimming with enthusiasm. She wasn't about to let this chance slip. Pulling out her phone, she opened the social platform app and quickly navigated to the profile of the famous manga artist Whale—the very pen name of Lucien D. Blackthorn.
"You've got some free time right now, Mai. Just take a quick look! I mean, the male lead you're going to act opposite in your next drama is supposed to be the captain of the school basketball team. Might as well get a feel for the vibe first."
Mai's lips pressed into a small frown. "Ryoko, I'm not sure I even want to take that role. I heard there's… a kissing scene."
"Seriously? Then I'll reject it for you!" Ryoko said without hesitation.
"Isn't that a little… rude? That director has always taken good care of me."
"What's rude about it? Our Mai is a big star now. Turning down a role is perfectly fine."
"Ryoko, you sound like you're trying to make me into some arrogant celebrity."
"My dear little Mai," Ryoko said with mock gravity, "this isn't arrogance. We haven't signed anything yet, so of course we have the right to refuse."
Mai sighed. "Fine. Then… you can help me reject it."
"Great! But you're finishing this manga called Slam Dunk first—then I'll reject it for you!"
"Uh…"
Mai's shoulders slumped slightly. With visible reluctance, she accepted Ryoko's phone and began scrolling through the first chapters of Slam Dunk.
---
That evening, Eri Kashiwagi—better known to her friends as Eriri Spencer Sawamura—uploaded Chapters 20, 21, and 22 of Slam Dunk's third volume to the social platform, using the official account run under Lucien's pen name, Whale.
These three chapters depicted Sakuragi Hanamichi's transformation after witnessing Rukawa Kaede's impeccable basketball skill. Determined to improve, Sakuragi trained hard, and with Haruko's patient help, finally mastered dribbling and layups.
Next, Shohoku High School was slated to play a friendly practice match against Ryonan High School. The story was shifting into the mainline basketball competition, the pace quickening, the tension rising.
Almost as soon as the chapters went live, the comments began flooding in.
[Netizen A]: Sakuragi is actually kinda cute when he's serious!
[Netizen B]: Now I get why Sakuragi likes Haruko—she's so kind and sweet! If I had someone like her helping me train every morning, I wouldn't have switched to soccer… Oh, I used to be on my school's basketball team, by the way.
[Netizen C]: Same here…
[Netizen D]: I feel like most people following this manga are basketball fans, right? There aren't many basketball stories out there. Everything is baseball or soccer these days…
[Netizen E]: I'm not just a fan—I'm on the basketball team for Uozu High in Toyama Prefecture!
Netizen F]: No way! I'm from Imizu High, also in Toyama! Want to set up a friendly match?
[Netizen E]: Absolutely! Consider it a warm-up before the nationals. Our Uozu team's goal is to win the Toyama championship this year!
[Netizen F]: Haha, not if Sheshui High has anything to say about it!
[Netizen G]: It's heating up!
The banter was lively, but still friendly.
Eriri smiled faintly as she skimmed the thread. Switching to her own "Eri Kashiwagi" account, she posted a little gift for her fans—a few extra sketches of characters from the manga—and engaged in lighthearted replies for a while.
Afterwards, she backed out to her homepage and started casually browsing trending news. Her feed was filled with the usual blend of entertainment gossip, celebrity scandals, and odd bits of viral content.
Then, her eyes caught on one particular trending tag:
#SakurajimaMai RukawaKaede
Eriri blinked. Had she read that right? She rubbed her eyes, then checked again. No mistake—the names were definitely there.
"This can't be that Rukawa Kaede from Slam Dunk, can it?" she muttered.
Perhaps, she reasoned, there was a male actor out there who happened to share the same name, and he'd been linked romantically with Mai Sakurajima. Which would be odd, since Mai had very publicly denied any interest in romance at a press conference not long ago.
Curiosity gnawed at her, and she tapped into the trending topic.
She wanted to see if this so-called "Rukawa Kaede" could actually live up to the cool, handsome image of the original manga character. If not… well, then sorry, buddy—you're not worthy of Mai Sakurajima.
The first post in the feed was from Mai herself:
> After filming wrapped, I went to the Shonan Coast with my assistant Ryoko for a bit. They say this is the route Rukawa Kaede takes to and from school every day. I had to come and check it out!
Beneath the caption was a selfie.
Even in a casual, unposed photo, Mai Sakurajima radiated beauty with the kind of effortless ease that could make almost any boy's heart skip a beat. Her calm, confident gaze carried that intangible aura—a "star quality" forged from years beneath the glare of cameras—that ordinary people simply couldn't imitate.
"Wow… Mai Sakurajima is stunning," Eriri whispered.
Even as a fellow girl, she felt the impact.
But then her eyes darted back to the caption.
Shonan Coast? Rukawa Kaede?
In that moment, it clicked. The "Rukawa Kaede" Mai referred to wasn't some random actor at all—it was the very same Rukawa Kaede from Slam Dunk
End of the chapter
250ps=1 extra chapter