Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"See, this stuff always happens when someone says that ghosts aren't real," Zeren said, already trembling.

Aside from that, he felt two heavy presences beside him, making him frown.

"And who the heck is holding onto my arms?" he whisper-shouted.

Just then, Lina lit up a candle, which illuminated the room by a small fraction.

Zeren looked at his side and saw that Kai and Yuze were clinging to him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The other players were also surprised, raising their eyebrows at the two.

Jet frowned. "You big doofuses are actually scared of ghosts?" he exclaimed.

Kai and Yuze, feeling their gazes on them, quickly scooted away from Zeren and acted like nothing was wrong.

While holding the candle, Lina stood from her spot and went to the window to take a peek outside.

Then, she sighed, facing the team once more.

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"It's not a ghost," she said. "It must be a blackout because the other houses also don't have any electricity. It's most definitely because of the heavy snow."

Kun shook his head. "I still stand by what I said. There's a ghost in our room."

Lina clicked his tongue and placed the candle between all of them. The other players began forming a circle, wanting to be enlightened by the candle.

They stayed silent for a couple of moments, not really knowing what to do.

The atmosphere felt somewhat awkward, and with Zeren, Lina, and Kai appearing more serious than usual, the awkwardness was amplified even further.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Shang asked, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

Jet scratched the back of his head. "Want to play a game?"

Shang turned to him with narrowed eyes. "That's what the murderer usually says in suspense movies."

Jet rolled his eyes. "Come on. I'm scared, too. But I'm bored. Let's play a game!"

"Yeah, me too," Kun chimed. "What about Truth or Dare?"

"Ooh! That's nice," Jet said. "There are questions I want to ask to a handful of you. Let's spin this bottle, and the person it lands on has to choose a truth or a dare," he continued.

"We know how it works," Yuze grumbled. "Let's just start."

"Geez. You don't have to be so impatient," Jet said, finally spinning the bottle.

The boys held their breaths, not really wanting to be called. They knew how brutal these games could be, and with a bunch of rowdy high schoolers in one room, things were bound to be intense.

A collective sigh of relief was heard across the room when the bottle landed on Yuze.

"Truth," Yuze said before they could even ask him.

"Oof!" Shang exclaimed. "We have our first lucky contestant! Does anybody have a question for him?"

Zeren quickly raised his hand.

"Yes?" Yuze said.

"I'm just curious," Zeren started off. "I know that all of us want to win in the upcoming leagues. However, you seem the most desperate out of everybody else—as if you want to prove something."

Yuze's expression hardened.

"This is just out of curiosity," Zeren repeated. "But why are you so adamant about winning this whole thing?"

Yuze clicked his tongue. "Isn't it normal? You're not an athlete if all you want to do is play. Of course, you would like to win."

Zeren sighed. "I know that. I hate losing, too. But, you seem particularly eager to beat the Yin Yang—"

"Next person," Yuze said before Zeren could even finish his statement.

Zeren clicked his tongue but let it go since it seemed like Yuze didn't want to talk about the specific topic.

Consequently, the bottle landed on Zeren, making him groan in defeat.

"Why me?" he exclaimed.

"Truth or Dare?" Shang excitedly asked.

Zeren let out a deep breath. "Dare," he muttered, making the boys go wild.

"That's more like it!" Jet exclaimed. "Zeren knows where the fun is."

"Just tell me," Zeren clicked his tongue.

"Hmm," Jet hummed, placing his hand under his chin.

"I dare you to hug the person you like the most in this circle!" he continued, causing Zeren's eyes to widen in surprise.

Lina, too, froze in her spot.

Meanwhile, the other players shook their heads.

"Isn't it obvious already?" Shang asked. "You wasted a perfectly good dare!"

Zeren hesitantly stood and sat next to Lina before giving her a one-armed hug. Kai looked down at the ground while Lina kept her gaze on her lap, not bothering to hug him back.

Meanwhile, Zeren's red cheeks were evident despite the darkness of the room.

"Boring!" Kun said. "We want new and juicy revelations!"

Jet raised his hands. "Sorry, that was my fault."

With that, he spun the bottle once more, and this time, it landed on Lina.

Lina let out a deep breath, not really wanting to face any truths or dares.

Jet nudged Kai's shoulder. "Why don't you ask her, huh? You've been awfully quiet since dinner."

Kai scratched the back of his neck before turning to Lina, his eyes darting around from nervousness.

"Make it juicy, Kai! I believe in you," Jet encouraged, patting Kai's back.

"Truth or Dare?"

Lina gulped as Kai asked her the question.

She hesitated for a moment before finally responding.

"Truth," she said, not really wanting to repeat what had happened with Zeren.

Kai looked into Lina's eyes despite his racing heart.

In his mind, he already had a question he wanted to ask.

'Do you like Zeren, too?'

However, he knew that it was too much of a personal question, so he had a hard time finding the right words to say.

"Make it fast, man," Shang urged.

Kai sighed.

"What do you want the most for this season?" he asked, making the players groan once more.

"Goodness, you ask such boring questions!" Shang said, already feeling tired of the game.

Lina, who was expecting a worse question, sighed in relief.

"I think that's already obvious," she started off. "I want us to have a good season—where we have fun, and nobody gets injured."

"I also want us to win, of course. I know that it still feels far-fetched right now, but I do believe that we have improved a lot as a team, and our chances of winning are higher for the Interhigh Preliminaries," she continued.

Yuze nodded in agreement.

Kai, too, nodded as he was satisfied with her answer.

Meanwhile, Shang clicked his tongue and spun the bottle. As they waited for the bottle to stop on someone, Shang asserted dominance for the next round.

"I'll be the one to ask for this round," he said. "It's time to show you guys what truth or dare really means."

Just his luck, the bottle landed on Kai, making him hold his breath.

Shang smirked—as if he had an evil plan in his mind.

Kia pursed his lips. This wasn't going to end well, was it?

"Truth," Kai quickly said, just wanting to get it over with.

"I know that you have a lot of girls—a harem, perhaps," Shang started off, making Kai frown.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kai asked.

"However, there must be a certain person in your heart...the most special one."

"Who is that person, Kai?"