Chapter 120 : VS Yosen High XI - The Start of the Second Half, Murasakibara Goes Crazy Again!

Fifteen minutes later, the game was finally about to be restarted again, and all the players from both teams started to enter the court one by one. However, as Furihata stepped into the court, he was greeted by the sudden tremendous pressure that came from the other side of the court. His breath hitched, as when he turned around, he could see the murderous glare from Yosen's players.

"Wow, that is intense." Hyuga let out a low whistle. It seems Furihata is not the only one who noticed that killing intent was directed at him. "With the way they look at you, people would probably think you killed one of them." The captain tried to throw a joke, easing his kouhai's tension.

Hearing that, Furihata just chuckled warily. "Surely you jest, Captain. If I were to kill one of them, it would be clean enough that no one would ever imagine the culprit was me."

Hyuga snorted, somehow could imagine that happened.

"Will you be alright, though?"

"Don't worry." Furihata waved his hand nonchalantly. "At best, they would only be double-teaming me. And you see how it went last quarter. I will survive."

Hyuga nodded, decided to trust his kouhai. Well, considering how he could survive every time he was on the verge of death, there is no reason for him to doubt his kouhai. And Hyuga also knows Furihata is the most stable player among his teammates.

Unfortunately for them, they are completely wrong this time.

Right after Furihata got the ball, two players came forward immediately. But unlike before, the defense is getting more tighter, as if they were not afraid of Kuroko anymore.

And indeed, they were not afraid.

Right at the same time as Furihata getting surrounded by Fukui and Tatsuya, Wei Liu stuck into Kuroko's every movement like he was glued to the blue-haired boy. And it looks like Wei Liu didn't care about where is the ball, as his eyes are completely locked into Kuroko.

'Damn! Why is their intensity suddenly getting higher? Wait! If those three are here, that means there would be a hole on their own side!'

Realizing that, with a lot of struggle, Furihata finally managed to send the ball to the other side, where Hyuga was waiting there. Now that the situation is two vs three with Kiyoshi, Hyuga, and Kagami attacking Okumura and Murasakibara, it should be an advantage for Seirin.

Except, it is not really an advantage.

Right before Hyuga could receive the ball, Okumura suddenly closed down the distance between them, sophisticating Seirin's captain to the sideline. He didn't even give Hyuga any chance to dribble the ball.

'Shit! I cannot get out!'

"Junpei!"

Kiyoshi who was in a free position helped the captain to escape from the death, retreating from his position in the high post into the three-point area. Seeing that, Hyuga didn't hesitate to throw the ball to Kiyoshi, giving the power forward a big chance to score himself as he was in an open position.

Unfortunately, a three-point shot is not Kiyoshi's strength. For him to secure the shoot, he stepped forward to get closer to the hoop and was about to pull up a midrange jumper. And by doing so, he unconsciously entered Murasakibara's defense territory.

"Shoot it, Kiyoshi!"

"Come on!"

When the ball is about to be released from his hand, another arm suddenly extends right in front of his face. Kiyoshi didn't need a long time to guess whose hand it was. But what makes him surprised was,

'What the hell is he doing here?! Should he guard the paint area?!'

Fortunately enough, because of his big palm, he could control the ball in his hand better than any other average player. Right before the ball was released, he changed its direction; instead of going straight to the hoop, it went to the left side, where Kagami was waiting near the baseline.

"Nice pass, Senpai!"

Kagami grinned, attacking the basket immediately. This was the first time he got such a good ball since the beginning of the game, and he couldn't hide the excitement on his face. Moreover, he couldn't help but shiver a bit when he recalled the process of the play before he got the ball.

From the inbound pass to Kagami, it only took 5 seconds for the ball to change sides quickly. And the best part is, it was done without the ball touched the ball even for once, with all the Seirin players guarded pretty tightly. The fact that they could still deliver the ball to the end of Yosen's side showed how good their offense is.

"Finish it quick, Red!"

The shout from the other side snapped Kagami from his thoughts. He snorted a little, knowing who it was even without turning around.

'Who does the bastard think I am?' He scoffed inwardly. 'With this wide-open position, I could even finish it with eyes closed.'

Kagami underestimated Murasakibara right now. He doesn't think that after getting attracted by Kiyoshi, the pink-haired center would be fast enough to turn back and cover the defense area he just left earlier.

And that was probably Kagami's biggest mistake right now.

Right when he leaped toward the hoop with the ball in his hand, another hand suddenly appeared from behind, touching the ball right before Kagami could slam it down through the hoop. And a second later,

*Slap!*

A block by Murasakibara!

It happened in a blink. No one could react fast enough to grab the rebound. However, it was unnecessary, as the ball didn't go too far from Murasakibara's hand. And right when both he and Kagami landed on the floor, Murasakibara blitzed toward the other side immediately with a speed that shouldn't be possible for a 2 2-meter guy like him, initiating the fastbreak alone.

"GO BACK! DEFENSE!"

It was Hyuga's shout that finally snapped all of them from their daydreaming, and right after that, all the Seirin players ran back frantically to their side.

"Oooh!"

"Murasakibara goes berserk again!"

"This is so exciting!"

"Come on, Yosen!"

Meanwhile, Kagami blinked his eyes repeatedly, trying to convince himself this wasn't real.

'What the hell? Is this just the same play as the first quarter? How the hell did I fall into the same trap twice?! And his reflex becomes faster too! How the hell is that possible? This is a fucking cheat!'

Unfortunately, Kagami didn't have enough time to lament his misfortune as he saw Murasakibara had already passed the half-court. He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath before sprinting back, trying to chase Murasakibara down.

"OOOH!"

"Kagami is coming!"

"Come on, Seirin!"

Even though Murasakibara is quite fast, with him holding the ball and his awkward running form, it was quite easy for Kagami who is more agile to chase him down. However, Murasakibara didn't have the intention to stop. Right before he entered the perimeter area, the pink-haired center passed the ball toward Tatsuya, who gave it back immediately with a lob.

"GODDAMNIT!"

Kagami jumped desperately, trying to prevent Murasakibara from getting the alley-oop done. However, due to the size difference between those two, Kagami could only reach Murasakibara's shoulder as the pink-haired center caught the ball in the air and slammed it down toward the basket.

*BAAAAMM!!*

"YOOSSSHHHAAAA!!!!"

"Come on, Murasakibara!"

"Keep it up!"

"RED, FAST!"

As all the Yosen players celebrated the last play, Furihata had already run toward the opposite side, asking Kagami for a quick transition. Knowing his intention, instead of getting depressed, Kagami caught the ball immediately and threw it far toward Furihata, initiating the fast break.

However, as he caught the ball and headed directly toward Yosen's side, Furihata found there was no panic exclamation from the Yosen players. And before he could ask for himself, he was already surrounded by Okumura and Wei Liu.

'What the hell are those two doing here?! There is no Murasakibara protecting your paint, go back!'

Furihata gritted his teeth, trying desperately to protect the ball. Even though they both are taller than Furihata, Okumura and Wei Liu showed that they could still hold him down. And when they finally cornered him and were about to force him to take a step outside of the sideline, the help Furihata desperately waited for a long time finally arrived.

"Furihata-kun! Here!"

It was Hyuga who approached him from the half-court, asking for the ball. But instead of giving the ball to his captain, with a single hesitation move, Furihata launched a complex series of dribble movements, escaping the double team gracefully.

"OOOHH!!!"

"That's beautiful!"

"He is really sneaky! Hahaha!"

In the first place, all Furihata needed was someone to distract his defenders. This is the biggest difference between playing in a one-on-one situation and playing in a normal game. In a one-on-one situation, he can just rely on his ability, and nothing else. But in a normal game like this, every single movement from his teammates could be useful, whether he passes the ball or not.

"Shit! Close him down!"

Wei Liu tried to follow his movement, preventing him from doing more harm. However, right before he could do anything, Furihata speeded up, driving through the paint area, and decided to attack the rim alone.

"WHAT?!"

"It was a breakthrough?!"

"Is he crazy?"

"But, wait! Murasakibara is still not there! It was still a transition!"

"You are right! Oooh!"

Yeah. Due to how fast the transition is, Murasakibara is not fast enough to go back to his area, which gives Furihata the confidence needed to attack the rim. Now with no one there, he could just go and make an easy layup for another two points.

Or so he thought.

Right when Furihata is about to take two steps necessary for the layup, the gasps and screams from the outside of the court suddenly distract him for a second.

"Furihata-kun! From behind!"

"Come on, Murasakibara!"

Without even turning around, Furihata could guess what happened. Just with a single glance aside, he could see from the corner of his eyes that Murasakibara rushed back toward his direction like crazy as if he was possessed by the soul of Lebron James or any other scary defenders from the NBA.

'So that's why no one chased me back after I got away from the double team. It was meant to slow me down until he is back and bait me to go to the paint, not to stop me completely.'

However, having realized that, now Furihata has enough time to counteract Yosen's strategy. As the ball was still in his hand, he had two options. Trying to force his way and still attack the paint, or faking the layup and kicking out the ball to someone else who is in the better position.

'Screw it!' Furihata cursed inwardly. 'Let's not take the risk and pass the ball.'

Even though he is currently in his best form, he didn't dare to confront Murasakibara in a physical or aerial battle. It was an unnecessary risk he won't make as if it fails, it would be a huge blow for his team.

Now, having decided that Furihata slowed down a bit, taking his time to wait for Murasakibara to get closer. Just like what Yosen did, he would bait this pink-haired center to get as close to him as possible before sending the ball in the other direction, not giving him any chance to react like he did to Kagami before.

And when they are about one step from each other, Furihata finally sends the ball outside, and a second later, it changes its direction to the opposite side, where Hyuga is waiting in a good position.

"Nice pass, Kuroko-kun!"

Yeah, it was Kuroko who helped Furihata redirect the ball to his captain. Somehow, he managed to get away from Tatsuya's eyes for a second, and that was all he needed to use his ability and send the ball to the players who were open.

And a second later,

*Splash!*

Without anyone guarding him, it was quite easy for Hyuga to send the ball to the basket from his spot.

"YOSSSHAAAAAA!!!"

Seirin's captain roared in celebration, venting out all of his emotions. The earlier play is probably the hardest sequence Seirin has ever done during this tournament. This team, Yosen, is a far better defensive team than all of their opponents before. That's why every time they scored the ball, they would celebrate it like crazy.

However, what they didn't notice was the silent glare from the pink-haired center, with the eyes that threatened to kill them in the next play.

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Author note :

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You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 140 on that page. Thank you! :)

-Zeta Faes-