Chapter 30 : VS Shinkyo II - Counter Attack

"What the fuck are you doing there?"

Contrary to what Kagami believes, Furihata didn't speak directly to him. No, he speak to all of the players who were on the court, including the senpai. It stunned all of them for a bit, couldn't process what just happened. Furihata, the player who is always respective to his senpai, cursing them out loud just like Kagami.

'Now, this would be interesting.'

A little smirk formed on the corner of Kagami's mouth, waiting for Furihata to say anything. While he would get the usual Furihata crass comment, it would not be him alone this time, something that he waits eagerly for.

However, Furihata wiped the smirk on his face with an intimidating glare, scaring him a little bit. Not that he would say it out loud, of course.

"Red, what the fuck are you doing there? Why the hell are you giving Otou-san a lot of space to make a shoot? Did you forget the lesson from Tsuchida? And for God's sake, Red. Keep your emotion in check! How many troubles do you want us to get into before it finally gets to your thick skull?!"

Kagami's jaw dropped in surprise. He couldn't reply to all the insults because not only Furihata is true, but this is also the first time, he hears Furihata go all out with his curses as if he is venting his frustration here.

Furihata didn't wait for Kagami to say anything. Instead, he turned around to Izuki who suddenly gulped nervously and is not really looking forward to the talk he was going to receive. And right to his prediction, he got another harsh talk from his Kouhai.

"Izuki-senpai, it is okay for the opponent to forget, but how could you forget about Phantom's presence? He is our unique weapon here! Use him properly, damn it!"

"Furihata-kun! Language!" Hyuga tries to reprimand Furihata, but it only makes his kouhai's attention shift to him.

"And Senpai, why in the seven hell did you play this passively? Are you that intimidated by Otou-san? He is just one player! Just avoid him if you are scared! Move the ball faster, and move your asses, for God's sake!"

"Furihata-kun, enough!" Riko finally spoke, stopping Furihata from his rants. He turned around to Riko to only get a stern face directed at him. "You scared your teammates here." When he turned around to see his teammates closely, he saw all of them have shocked expressions on their faces, too speechless to say anything.

"Sit." He huffed a little when he received the order from his coach, but still do it anyway. Riko nodded at him before she turned her attention to her players.

"While what Furihata-kun said is harsh, he is true, you know." She spoke. "We let Kuroko-kun on the game for his unique play style. If we didn't use it, it would put us at disadvantage here. He is our best way to get rid of Kagami-kun's double team, so use it properly. Oh, and Kuroko-kun, it is alright to be invisible to your opponent. But, try to stay in your teammates' sight, alright? Not everyone could keep on track with you, after all."

"Yes, Coach." The blue-haired boy nodded with his straight face.

"Good. And just like Furihata said, we need to move the ball faster if we wanted to avoid Otou-san. That's why Furihata-kun will go this time for Izuki. Any objection?" She said the last part to Izuki. It is understandable if his pride got hurt considering he is just playing for three minutes before he got substituted.

"Don't worry, Coach, I understand." Izuki tries to reassure her. "I know he is a better scorer than me, and he can coordinate with Kuroko-kun well enough. We need to score, or the situation will be bad for us. Furihata is a better choice than me right now."

"Thank you, Izuki." She is glad at least one of her players matured enough to understand the situation. And now, it is time to turn her attention to the biggest source of her headache.

"Kagami-kun, what did I tell you about your emotion?" She asked, giving him a sweet smile that promised a painful punishment

"To always keep it in check." He gulped nervously.

"Good! You better remember that, okay?" He nodded quickly; sweats dropped profusely from his temple. "Also, I know you want to stop Otou-san directly. But think of your team first, okay? You can do that after we are on the lead, not at the beginning of the game."

"Yes, Coach." He muttered a grumble which was ignored by Riko.

"And lastly, I know all of you are getting intimidated by Otou-san. But like Furihata-kun said, he is only one player. And their overall team is definitely far worse than Kaijo. If we can win against Kaijo, why are you worried about them?"

The dim and tense atmosphere on the bench gradually disappeared after that, replaced by a relaxed one. She is right. They won against Kaijo, why would they need to worry against Shinkyo?

"Good." Riko nodded, satisfied with the change of atmosphere. "I don't want you to grow overconfident and underestimated your opponent, but I know you are better than them. So, go! Show them what you are capable of! Show them Seirin Basketball Team! And come back with the win in your hands!"

"YES, COACH!"

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The game restarted again, and now the ball is in Furihata's hand. He scanned the entire court to see how his teammates is going, and he didn't feel disappointed.

Hyuga is always on the move, keeping his guard busy. He is the off-ball shooter type, so he needs to create his own space before he shoots. Mitobe is trying to give Otou-san pressure inside the paint area, and Kagami is busy with his two guards.

But right at the moment when Kagami managed to escape from his two guards, Furihata sends the ball straight in Otou-san's direction.

"What? A miss pass?"

Otou-san couldn't help but feel strange at the miss pass. It was far too convenient to them, almost like the point guard gives him the ball straight away. But the moment before he could grab the ball, his eyes caught a sudden movement below him, and before he could react, the ball suddenly changes its direction upwards.

"WHAT?!"

He widened his eyes in shock. However, he couldn't react at all, as the ball went straight above him, and suddenly, the red-haired boy who keeps glaring at him since the beginning appeared in the air, catching the ball before he slammed it down.

*BAM!!*

"Yosshaaa!!!"

"Nice dunk, Kagami-kun!"

Meanwhile, Otou-san stood still with his mouth gaping. His mind couldn't process what just happened before.

"Shiki-san, are you alright?" One of his teammates asked, concerned about him. He could only shake his head as he still wondered about the last play.

"What happened before?" He muttered loudly. "I swear the ball is coming to me, but how is it suddenly have the direction change?"

His teammates are looking at each other before they shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe it was just a fluke." One of them replied.

Otou-san shook his head, thinking that it was not that simple. Unfortunately, his teammates' basketball IQ and awareness are bad, so he couldn't hope for any answers from them. He just hopes this would not turn into a bad thing for them.

And just like a jinx, the bad thing really happened to them.

Right after his teammates give the inbound pass to the point guard, he (the point guard) was getting pressured on their own side by Seirin #12 (Furihata). The point guard is trying hard to escape from the guard that he lowered his guard for a second.

That was when he (Otou-san) caught the same sudden movement popping up once again. This time, he had the chance to warn his teammates.

"Careful!"

However, his warning didn't have any use as the ball suddenly snapped from the point guard's hand. And right now, he saw clearly what just happened. The blue-haired child who they claimed as their teammate at the beginning, the one who did nothing since the beginning, the one he forget his presence, suddenly appeared to steal the ball.

"DEFENSE!"

He couldn't help but shout. Even though they are still on the lead. With how the last two plays go, it would be bad to let Seirin scores more. He was just glad that the blue-haired boy didn't have any speed in his dribble. His teammates could stop the boy.

However, his mind was proven wrong when the boy passed the ball through his legs, and the #12 showed his incredible pace by driving forward without any hint of hesitation. Fortunately, he is right in time to arrive right when the opponent attempted a layup.

"I could block it!"

The thought of a fortunate event turned out to be unfortunate for him and his team as Seirin #12 suddenly lowered the ball and kicked it outside where their captain is waiting without anyone guarding him.

"Shit!"

He couldn't do anything as he saw the ball was launched high, creating a beautiful arch before it went in smoothly to the basket.

*Splash!*

6-5

"Nice one, captain!"

"Good shoot!"

Otou-san could only smile wryly at Seirin players who celebrate this shoot. The difference between their team is too far and he is afraid he couldn't stop their offense alone. Nonetheless, as long as he couldn't be stopped, he still has the confidence that he could win this game, something that would be proven wrong again in time.

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Author note:

NEXT CHAPTER: VS Shinkyo III - Dominating the game.

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