Chapter 113 : VS Yosen High V - Tear Down the Mighty Defense!
Murasakibara is in distraught. His mind is running fast, recalling every tiny detail of the last play.
'What happened?' He mused. 'I got my eyes on the ball, looking at it closely. There is no indication that Kuro-chin would speed up; but the moment the ball dropped to the floor, he vanished instantly. Even I couldn't detect his presence with my peripheral vision. Does that mean he went through my blind spot? But where is it? And how did he do that?'
One thing people often misunderstand about Murasakibara; he is lazy, but not a stupid person. Hell, he could even get into the top 20 rank in Yosen High by studying only one night before the exam, something that he could brag to the others if he cared enough about it.
And while he often preferred to be lazy, in case something like this happened, he would use all of his brain cells to find the answer to his curiosity.
"You alright?"
Tatsuya's voice brings Murasakibara back to reality. When he regains his focus back, he could feel the concerned gazes from his teammates.
"Don't worry, Muro-chin." Murasakibara answered, trying his best to show his usual lack of interest. "It just surprised me how much Kuro-chin improved since we graduated from Teikou."
Tatsuya smiles, could understand him. "Well, it was a part of growing up, I am afraid. There is always one person who exceeded our expectations, whether we like it or not. For now, though, let's just show them they are not the only ones who get better."
Even though he said it vaguely, Murasakibara knows Tatsuya talked about two of his acquaintances, Alex and Kagami. From Tatsuya's infamous rant, he could guess a little that they didn't have a good enough relationship. So, he decided to nod, supporting Tatsuya silently, even if he didn't have to show anything to be better than Kuroko.
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The next play went smoother than before for Yosen High. Because the lead has shortened to ten points and the momentum of the game is changing sides, Seirin decided to leave their high-pressing strategy and go back to their normal defense play to save their energy. That also slowed down the game, which favored Yosen a little over Seirin.
Now, the ball is in Tatsuya's possession, facing Hyuga in an isolation situation.
'20 – 10, two minutes before the first quarter end. Let's see if I could get the momentum back.'
Tatsuya took a deep breath, starting to move. He was followed by Hyuga pretty tightly, so if he wanted to take a shoot, he needs to create space for himself.
'Well, that is easy.'
He lunged forward, bumped his body into Seirin's captain, trying to force himself into the paint area. When Hyuga didn't bulge even for an inch, Tatsuya retreated a little, his eyes looking up at the hoop.
Having played against Furihata a lot, Hyuga knew a trickster when he saw it. So, the moment Tatsuya looked up to the basket, he knew Yosen's shooting guard was about to drive forward once again with the hesitation move. So, he didn't close down the distance, waiting for the upcoming drive.
However, one thing Hyuga didn't count is Tatsuya's ability to adapt to the current situation spontaneously. The moment he saw Hyuga didn't stick close enough, instead of charging forward, he retreated further with another step back, creating enough space and time for him to take the shoot.
"Damn!" Hyuga cursed as Tatsuya is taking a stance, pulling up a shoot from outside of the three-point line. However, nothing could be done, as the ball has already been released from Tatsuya's hand, flying through the air, creating a beautiful arch before the sound of the ball hitting the net could be heard loudly.
*Splash!*
A three-point shot from Tatsuya!
"Come on!"
"Nice three, Himuo-kun!"
"Give it more!"
"Defense! Go back!"
"Be careful of their transition!"
And Yosen High once again proved that they are the best defensive team of the tournament by going back quickly, not giving Seirin any chance to do a fast break. Hell, even Murasakibara who is infamous for his laziness was already in his defensive position; either because he ran quickly or he didn't go too far in their last offense.
'Damn, they are fast.' Furihata cursed mildly, feeling helpless about it. 'Well, it doesn't matter. Let's try to do it slowly again.'
Just like before, the ball went quickly to Kuroko's hand, and once again, the blue-haired boy faced his former teammate in a head-on situation.
However, unlike before, now, Kuroko could feel immense pressure radiating from Murasakibara, freezing him on the spot for a second. For the first time since he joined Seirin was he reminded of how terrible it is to play against the Generation of Miracles recklessly like this.
And at this time, he suddenly remembered what Furihata said during the timeout.
-Little flashback-
"Why not use it again if I succeed?"
"No, Phantom, that wouldn't do." Furihata shook his head, shooting down Kuroko's idea immediately. "The trick is to let them always guess, is that a fluke or not? It would spare us some time to tear their defense down."
Even though Kuroko didn't really understand, he just nodded, decided to trust Furihata's judgment for now.
"So, what should I do?"
At that, Furihata smirked. "Well, of course, you should go back to your usual style, a passer." Seeing the doubt on Kuroko's face, he added quickly. "Don't worry. You will notice the hole in Yosen's defense later if your vanishing drive success."
Kuroko just nodded slightly, not having any argument to reject Furihata's plan.
-End of the flashback-
Having been playing the role of shadow in middle school, Kuroko is quite proficient with reading the defensive position of the opponent. So, the moment he remembered Furihata's words and tried to observe Yosen's defense, he couldn't help but frown at the sudden strangeness of it.
'Why are they more centered?'
From outside of the three-point line, Furihata grinned, knowing that Kuroko finally noticed something wrong in their defense. It wouldn't take a long time for the blue-haired boy to find the answer.
And indeed, it didn't take a long time. Just two seconds later, Kuroko widened his eyes slightly, finally realizing what happened.
'Furihata-kun is right! It was because of the last play that now, unconsciously, they tried to protect the paint in case I could do it again! That opened some space outside!'
And with Furihata cutting from the outside, Kuroko let out a small smile.
"Sorry, Murasakibara-kun. It seems I won again this time."
Murasakibara was confused by the sudden confidence that surged from Kuroko. A pit formed in his gut, knowing that Kuroko would do something unbelievable again. Because of that, Murasakibara took a step backward unconsciously, trying to defend his pride, the paint area.
However, the attack he waited for didn't come. Instead, the ball went through Kuroko's legs as the blue-haired boy passed the ball to his back; and it was caught by Furihata who was grinning at Kuroko's setup.
"Nice pass, Phantom!"
"Damn it!"
Fukui who was tasked to guard Furihata cursed, couldn't follow Furihata's fast movement at all. Right after catching the ball, Furihata took a step aside and pulled up a jumper right in front of the baseline, and a second later,
*Splash!*
Another two points for Seirin!
"Nice shoot, Furihata-kun!"
"Keep it up! Keep it up!"
"Go back! Defense!"
The score is 23 – 12. Even though there are still 11 points in difference, now that Seirin was able to attack Murasakibara's side successfully twice, everyone could see that the momentum is on Seirin's side. And it was proven in the next play, as Hyuga showed a masterclass defense to lock Tatsuya down.
"Captain, don't let him have enough space!"
"Lock him down!"
"Don't give up, Junpei!"
"YEAAAAH!!!!"
"COME OOOOON!!!!!"
All of Seirin's players roared in celebration as their captain just repelled Tatsuya's attack successfully, taping the ball out of Tatsuya's hand, resulting in an inbound pass for Yosen High. Even though it didn't change the possession, at least Hyuga's defense managed to ignite all of his teammates' spirits to do better.
Unfortunately for them, in the next play, the elephant in the room suddenly asked for the ball.
"Muro-chan, give it to me."
At first, all the Yosen players snapped their heads simultaneously toward Murasakibara, couldn't believe they just heard that sentence coming from Murasakibara. This was the first time their center voluntarily asked for the ball in the offense, so, they were stunned for a second. But Tatsuya recovered fast and gave the ball to his center quickly.
And right after that, Kiyoshi who is guarding Murasakibara suddenly feels as if he was hit by a truck, getting bodied several times in a low-post situation by the giant. Unfortunately, before anyone could help the power forward, Murasakibara jumped, slammed the ball hard to the basket.
*BAAAAM!!!*
Silence fell on the court for a second before a roar broke it.
"YEAAAAH!!!"
"COME ON, MURASAKIBARA!"
Kiyoshi who was the victim of the dunk could only smile helplessly, didn't really know how to react. However, a competitive spark ignited inside his heart, especially after seeing Murasakibara didn't even bat his eyes on him after the dunk.
'Damn, I really want to stop him even for once in this game.'
He shook his head, accepting his teammates' hands, and gets up from the floor, ready to play.
Meanwhile, right after receiving the inbound pass, Furihata dribbled it slowly, walking side-by-side with Kuroko.
"20 seconds left, huh?" He muttered, twirling his head slightly toward the blue-haired boy. "Phantom, do you think you can do the dribble once again? It would be a good way to close the quarter."
Kuroko was surprised for a second. But after thinking about it quickly, he understood what Furihata was trying to do.
If the quarter ended with Murasakibara's dunk, the momentum they gained with hard work would go once again to Yosen's side, and it would be difficult for their teammates to recover mentally.
But if they could score the buzzer-beater, it would be a different story, both for Seirin and Yosen.
After a while, Kuroko nodded his head slightly. "Sure, let's do it."
Furihata grinned, knowing Kuroko would see his point. "Okay, let's do this…."
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It was the last play of the first quarter, when Furihata sends the ball to Kuroko once again, with another matchup between two former members of Teikou.
"Kuro-chin, you really become bolder and braver after graduating." Murasakibara started conversation, speaking lazily. Kuroko just smiles, knowing that while it wasn't shown outside, Murasakibara is heightened his guard to the maximum state, ready for the play.
Just like before, Kuroko lowered his stance, about to drop the ball and dribbled it. Murasakibara's eyes are completely locked into his movement, observing every tiny detail of it, afraid that to lose track of the blue-haired boy again.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as just like before, Kuroko suddenly vanished right under his nose, and by the sound of the audience, he could guess that Kuroko has already passed him, now facing the basket alone.
"OOOOH!!!!"
"Come on, Kuroko-kun!"
However, once again, Yosen showed their defensive capability, as Okumura and Wei Liu suddenly arrived, preventing Kuroko to go forward. Added with Murasakibara who was able to recover quickly, now, Kuroko was trapped by three Yosen's players under the hoop.
"Nice defense, Yosen!"
"Damn! Come on, Seirin!"
All the audience roared loudly, cheering for the team they supported to finish the job in this quarter. With the deafening cheers from all the people in the gymnasium, one single nervous moment was enough to break Kuroko's mental state.
However, even with all the pressure from the three giants surrounding him and the loud cheers from all the people there, Kuroko still managed to keep his mind calm, and when anyone thinks the attack would fail, the ball suddenly vanished from Kuroko's hand, moving outside quite fast just to land on Furihata's hand.
"Damn! It was just bait! Fukui!"
"I am on it!"
Getting fooled by Seirin like this was a quite humiliating experience for all Yosen players., Fukui gritted his teeth, running with all his life to stop the shoot. Yet instead of shooting, Furihata slides the ball faster, as it changed possession once again to Hyuga who is on the left wing.
"Tatsuya!"
"Yes, Senpai!"
With how tight Tatsuya's defense was on him, Hyuga didn't have any chance to take a shoot. But it wasn't the plan in the first place, as once again, Hyuga slides it to the corner area, where Mitobe stood alone there, without Okumura guarding him.
And a second later,
*Splash!*
*FWEEEEEEE!!!!!!*
Just right after Mitobe's shoot went in, the sound of the horn could be heard clearly, indicating the end of the first quarter. All of the eyes suddenly landed on Mitobe, probably the second most invisible player besides Kuroko, and all hell broke loose, as all the Seirin players suddenly ran frantically toward Mitobe's direction.
"OOOOOOH!!!!"
"THAT'S OUR SILENT KILLER, MITOBE!"
"GOOD JOB, MITOBE!"
"NICE THREE!!"
They all laugh, celebrating like crazy, not noticing the bloodshot gazes from the Yosen's side. At this time, only Alex who watched from the sideline knows, the next quarter would be harder than ever for Seirin's side.
25 – 15
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Author note :
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-Zeta Faes-