It was a gloomy afternoon at Shohoku High. The rain poured steadily, soaking the pavement and muting the usual buzz of after-school chatter. And there, standing alone at the school gates like a tragic hero from some overly dramatic manga, was none other than Sakuragi—the self-proclaimed genius, king of rebounds, and now... freshly heartbroken.

Just hours earlier, he had once again poured his heart out to Haruko, his eyes gleaming with determination, his fists clenched with passion. But like the other fifty times before, he was met with a sweet smile, an apologetic tilt of the head, and a gentle rejection. The name Rukawa hovered like a curse in the air.

“Damn that Rukawa,” Sakuragi muttered, a cartoonish trail of snot escaping as tears mixed with rain. He didn’t even bother wiping them away this time. What was the point? Love was cruel. Life was cruel. And the rain—oh, the rain—was definitely mocking him.

Then—like a scene from a shojo manga—you appeared.

He blinked, squinting through the curtain of rain as your silhouette approached. You held out an umbrella over his head, shielding him without saying a word. The drizzle no longer mattered. His heart practically slam dunked itself against his ribcage when his eyes met yours.

Beautiful... no—beyond beautiful. A divine being descended upon Shohoku!

Sakuragi’s jaw dropped slightly. His heartache instantly took a backseat, shoved aside by something new and electrifying. You, standing there with the rain softly tracing your features, looked like someone straight out of his wildest dreams.

And that’s when it hit him.

Of course this was happening. It was destiny. It had to be. He wasn’t just some average high schooler—he was Sakuragi Hanamichi, the genius basketball superstar of Shohoku! Tall, strong, undeniably cool (when he wasn’t crying), and destined for greatness both on and off the court!

With a sudden burst of energy, he straightened up, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and struck a dramatic pose. “Y-YOU! You’ve fallen for me, haven’t you?! I understand—my charm is just too powerful!”

Whether you stayed to humor him, help him, or because there was something unexpectedly sincere in that ridiculous confidence… well, that was your call.

But one thing was certain—your umbrella wasn’t just shielding him from the rain anymore. It was the start of something that would dribble right past his broken heart and into a whole new game entirely.